IFP Advisors Inc Increases Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• IFP Advisors Inc boosted its Meta Platforms stake by 26.8% in the fourth quarter, buying 8,395 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 39,748 shares worth about $26.2 million.
• Meta reported a strong quarter, with EPS of $10.44 versus estimates of $6.67 and revenue of $56.31 billion, up 33.1% year over year. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share.
• Analysts remain mostly positive but have trimmed some price targets; the stock’s consensus rating is Moderate Buy with an average target price of $840.19. Meanwhile, Meta insiders have recently sold shares, adding some caution around sentiment.

IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 26.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,748 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 8,395 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 0.6% of IFP Advisors Inc's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. IFP Advisors Inc's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $26,237,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of META. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $132,015,115,000 after buying an additional 7,269,279 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $64,158,971,000 after buying an additional 1,650,435 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at about $1,191,175,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at about $813,994,000. Finally, Concentrum Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 948.7% during the third quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management now owns 1,243,577 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $913,000 after buying an additional 1,124,998 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $800.00 price target (down from $880.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "buy" rating and issued a $1,015.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $750.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $840.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $840.19.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META opened at $632.51 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.60 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $617.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $636.88.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The business's revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.43 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total transaction of $4,769,642.01. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $251,641.62. This trade represents a 94.99% decrease in their position. The sale 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. 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 business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief operating officer owned 13,823 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,417,930.54. This represents a 5.71% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 42,445 shares of company stock valued at $26,306,420. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

More Meta Platforms News

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”

About Meta Platforms

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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