J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Sells 21,537 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG cut its Meta Platforms stake by 19.6% in Q1, selling 21,537 shares and ending with 88,364 shares valued at about $50.5 million.
• Meta shares were trading down 2.8% at $646.01, giving the company a market cap of about $1.63 trillion.
• Meta’s latest earnings topped expectations, with EPS of $10.44 versus $6.67 expected and revenue of $56.31 billion, up 33.1% year over year.

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG decreased its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 19.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 88,364 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 21,537 shares during the quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $50,502,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $20,230,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,537,000 after acquiring an additional 875 shares during the last quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 294.7% in the first quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd now owns 150,000 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $86,454,000 after acquiring an additional 112,000 shares during the period. Dymon Asia Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at $213,000. Finally, Capital & Planning LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth about $322,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 2.8%

META stock opened at $646.01 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.63 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $796.25. The firm's 50-day moving average is $603.17 and its 200 day moving average is $627.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.43 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.42 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is reportedly in early talks to lease computing power to Anthropic in a potential deal worth up to $10 billion. Investors view that as a possible new revenue stream that would help Meta monetize its AI infrastructure and validate demand for its computing capacity. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Meta also unveiled its newest AI model, Muse Spark 1.1, and the company is reportedly considering a broader cloud push. Together, those moves reinforce the idea that Meta can turn heavy AI spending into products and services that generate returns. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive on Meta’s earnings outlook, with Erste Group raising its FY2027 EPS estimate and maintaining a Buy rating. That adds to the bullish case heading into the next earnings report. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: A federal judge declined to block Meta from laying off workers who filed an AI discrimination lawsuit. The ruling removes an immediate legal obstacle, but the underlying claims over alleged bias in AI-driven job cuts still create headline risk. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is also facing scrutiny from employees over AI-assisted layoffs, with allegations that its tools discriminated against protected groups. That could keep legal and reputational pressure on the stock. Article Title

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $850.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $810.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $725.00 target price (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $830.45.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total transaction of $1,268,023.68. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares in the company, valued at $681,890.56. This trade represents a 65.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.75, for a total value of $303,875.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,443 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,092,483.25. This trade represents a 12.68% 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 quarter, insiders sold 39,503 shares of company stock worth $24,241,859. Company 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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