Heritage Investors Management Corp Buys 3,038 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Heritage Investors Management Corp boosted its Meta Platforms stake by 10% in the fourth quarter, buying 3,038 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 33,526 shares worth about $22.1 million.
• Several other institutional investors also added to or initiated positions in Meta, and 79.91% of the stock is now owned by hedge funds and other institutions.
• Meta reported strong quarterly results with EPS of $10.44 versus $6.67 expected and revenue of $56.31 billion, while analysts still view the stock as a Moderate Buy with a consensus target price of $840.19.

Heritage Investors Management Corp increased its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 10.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 33,526 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,038 shares during the period. Heritage Investors Management Corp's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $22,130,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in META. Westchester Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Key Capital Management INC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 36.8% in the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 78 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total value of $4,769,642.01. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 414 shares in the company, valued at $251,641.62. This represents a 94.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 837 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 13,823 shares in the company, valued at $8,417,930.54. The trade was a 5.71% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 42,445 shares of company stock valued at $26,306,420. 13.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META opened at $632.51 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $796.25. The company has a market cap of $1.60 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $617.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $636.88. 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 (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The business had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.43 earnings per share. Meta Platforms's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Meta Platforms News Summary

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”

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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 report on Thursday, April 30th. Mizuho dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $835.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wolfe Research dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "buy" rating and issued a $1,015.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $885.00 to $820.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Four investment 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. 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 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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