Global Retirement Partners LLC Increases Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its Meta Platforms stake by 13.8% in the fourth quarter, adding 8,031 shares and bringing its total to 66,033 shares valued at about $43.6 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other institutional investors holding 79.91% of Meta’s stock. Several large firms, including Vanguard and State Street, also added to their positions.
• Wall Street remains broadly bullish after Meta’s latest earnings beat, as the company reported $10.44 EPS versus expectations of $6.67 and revenue growth of 33.1% year over year. Analysts’ consensus rating is Moderate Buy, with a target price of $840.19.

Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 13.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 66,033 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 8,031 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 0.8% of Global Retirement Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Global Retirement Partners LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $43,588,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $132,015,115,000 after purchasing an additional 7,269,279 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.9% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $64,158,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,650,435 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 39,247,690 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $28,823,375,000 after purchasing an additional 278,180 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,153,754 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $12,597,374,000 after purchasing an additional 142,229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.1% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,332,168 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $10,525,258,000 after purchasing an additional 558,792 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on META shares. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and set a $760.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "buy" rating and set a $1,015.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Bank of America decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $885.00 to $820.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Argus restated a "buy" rating and set a $800.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $840.19.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $632.51 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month high of $796.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $617.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $636.88. The stock has a market cap of $1.60 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The company had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.43 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 7.63%.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched paid subscription plans across its flagship apps and Meta AI, opening a new monetization path that could reduce reliance on ad revenue. Mark Zuckerberg says a Meta cloud computing business 'definitely on the table'
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators are pointing to the subscription push as a meaningful upside driver, with some estimating it could add billions in annual revenue if adoption is strong. Meta's Subscription Push Could Add $13.5 Billion By 2028 Across Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta also said it may eventually use excess AI/data-center capacity for a cloud business, which adds long-term optionality but is still early-stage. Mark Zuckerberg says a Meta cloud computing business 'definitely on the table'
• Neutral Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend, which is modest but reinforces capital-return strength. Meta Announces Quarterly Cash Dividend
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported Meta’s employee mouse-click tracking tool for AI training may run into EU privacy concerns, creating regulatory risk around data collection and cross-border use. Exclusive: Meta tool to track employee mouse clicks on collision course with EU privacy rules
• Negative Sentiment: Recent commentary from Jim Cramer and disclosures of insider selling add some caution around execution and valuation. Jim Cramer Says Meta “Has Not Excelled in a Visible Way”

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 837 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $608.98, for a total value of $509,716.26. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 13,823 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,417,930.54. The trade was a 5.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total value of $1,268,023.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $681,890.56. The trade was a 65.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 42,445 shares of company stock worth $26,306,420 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc NASDAQ: META, formerly Facebook, Inc, is a global technology company best known for building social networking services and immersive computing platforms. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company operates a family of consumer-facing products and services that connect users, creators and businesses. In October 2021 the company rebranded as Meta to reflect an expanded strategic focus on augmented and virtual reality technologies alongside its social media businesses.

Meta's core consumer products include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and community building across mobile and desktop devices.

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