J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc. Buys New Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• J. Derek Lewis & Associates opened a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter, buying 2,284 shares valued at about $1.51 million.
• Meta’s stock was down 2.3% in Tuesday trading, opening at $563.85, well below its 52-week high of $796.25 but above its low of $520.26.
• The company recently reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $10.44 beating estimates and revenue of $56.31 billion rising 33.1% year over year; Meta also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share.

J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,284 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $1,508,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth $26,000. RHL Group LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Key Capital Management INC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 2.3%

NASDAQ:META opened at $563.85 on Tuesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month high of $796.25. The company has a market cap of $1.43 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $619.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $633.52. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.43 earnings per share. Meta Platforms's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued 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 0.4%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 7.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $935.00 to $945.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wedbush upgraded Meta Platforms from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $775.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an "overweight" rating on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $840.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 140 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total transaction of $84,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 12,846 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,707,600. This represents a 1.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $1,268,023.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 1,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $681,890.56. This trade represents a 65.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 39,013 shares of company stock valued at $24,115,999. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is making a major strategic push in India, investing $900 million in fintech startup CRED and appointing its founder, Kunal Shah, to lead WhatsApp. Investors may view this as a growth-oriented move that strengthens Meta’s positioning in a key market. Indian fintech firm CRED to raise $900 million from Meta at $4.5 billion valuation
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and commentators continued to highlight upside potential for META, with reports noting Wall Street price targets implying substantial upside and framing the recent pullback as a buying opportunity. Meta Taps New WhatsApp Boss as Part of $900 Million Investment
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is expanding Instagram beyond mobile with new TV features, a product move that could open another engagement channel but is not yet a material financial catalyst. Meta Takes on Streaming Giants With New ‘Instagram for TV' Offerings
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is pausing an internal mouse-tracking and employee activity program while it reviews data-security concerns. The move may reduce near-term controversy, but it also underscores internal governance and privacy issues around its AI efforts. Meta to pause internal mouse-tracking tech while examining data security issues
• Negative Sentiment: Reports of a leaked employee-activity database from Meta’s AI training program intensified backlash and raised concerns about internal data security and employee trust, which can weigh on sentiment. Meta pauses an AI training program that tracks employees' keystrokes after a companywide leak
• Negative Sentiment: Shares are also being dragged by a broader tech selloff, with Meta included in a drop across the Magnificent 7 as investors rotate out of high-growth names. The Magnificent 7 Selloff Is a Rare Buying Opportunity

Meta Platforms Company 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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