Keel Point LLC Sells 3,619 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Keel Point LLC cut its Meta stake by 24.7% in the first quarter, selling 3,619 shares and retaining 11,011 shares valued at approximately $6.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.91% of Meta.
• Meta reported quarterly revenue of $60.8 billion, up 28% year over year, but earnings per share of $6.18 missed analysts’ $7.19 consensus estimate. Shares opened at $556.71, well below their 12-month high of $796.25.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and $789.95 price target, while Meta pays a quarterly dividend of $0.525. Insiders sold 37,770 shares worth roughly $23 million over the past 90 days.

Keel Point LLC reduced its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 24.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,011 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 3,619 shares during the quarter. Keel Point LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $6,300,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. First National Bank Sioux Falls increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 2,001 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,321,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 984 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $649,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. Vista Capital Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $794,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Arcataur Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Arcataur Capital Management LLC now owns 1,736 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,146,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acorn Creek Capital LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC now owns 2,118 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,398,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $556.71 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.41 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month high of $796.25. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $601.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $622.84.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). The firm had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.Meta Platforms's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $7.14 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.91%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total value of $2,012,047.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 9,498 shares in the company, valued at $5,708,013.06. This trade represents a 26.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total transaction of $5,589,088.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,014,978.24. This represents a 41.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 37,770 shares of company stock worth $23,034,051. 13.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on META shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $800.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $785.00 price objective (down from $800.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $650.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $789.95.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s core advertising business remains strong. Second-quarter revenue increased 28% year over year to $60.8 billion, while ad impressions, pricing, engagement and AI-powered recommendation tools continued to improve. Advantage+ advertising reportedly reached a $75 billion annualized run rate. Meta: Buy The AI Spending Panic
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts and investment commentators view the selloff as an opportunity, arguing that Meta’s advertising engine can fund its AI investments and that AI is already improving ad performance, personalization and user engagement. Meta also highlighted potential enterprise AI products, personal AI agents and new applications. Buy Meta’s Earnings Drop
• Positive Sentiment: Despite reductions, major firms retained bullish ratings and price targets, including UBS at $715, Baird at $750, Cantor Fitzgerald at $680 and Rosenblatt at $883. The targets imply substantial long-term upside if Meta converts AI spending into monetization. Meta Given New Price Target at Baird
• Neutral Sentiment: The earnings miss was partly affected by approximately $2.4 billion in legal charges and $1.2 billion in severance costs. Excluding these items, supporters argue that underlying profitability was healthier, but reported margins still declined.
• Negative Sentiment: Meta reported $6.18 in quarterly EPS, below expectations near $7.19, while free cash flow fell to only $784 million from $31.9 billion in operating cash flow as AI data-center capital expenditures surged. Investors remain unconvinced that the spending will generate adequate returns soon. Tech’s AI Buildout Has Ballooning Price Tag
• Negative Sentiment: Future AI-related lease obligations reached $279 billion, increasing concerns about balance-sheet commitments and execution risk. Additional legal and regulatory pressure includes a wrongful-death lawsuit alleging that social-media companies harmed minors, plus an Indian police case involving Meta’s India chief over Facebook posts depicting Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Meta’s AI Splurge Lays Bare Its Compute Conundrum

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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