Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ Sells 2,047 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ trimmed its Meta Platforms stake by 0.3% in the first quarter, selling 2,047 shares and ending with 686,141 shares worth about $392.6 million. Meta still represents roughly 2.1% of the fund’s portfolio and is its ninth-largest holding.
• Wall Street remains largely positive on Meta, with analysts assigning an average “Moderate Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $840.64. Recent ratings were mixed, though, as some firms raised targets while others downgraded the stock.
• Meta’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $10.44 and revenue of $56.31 billion, while investor attention continues to focus on its AI spending and possible cloud-computing expansion. At the same time, concerns remain that some AI initiatives are progressing slower than hoped and may take longer to monetize.

Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ cut its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 0.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 686,141 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 2,047 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 2.1% of Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ's portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $392,560,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of META. RHL Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Key Capital Management INC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on META. Susquehanna raised Meta Platforms from a "positive" rating to a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $775.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $935.00 to $945.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, UBS Group cut shares of Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $840.64.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is being viewed more favorably by some analysts because its AI-powered ads are reportedly improving advertiser returns, which supports revenue growth and suggests its AI spending is starting to pay off. Meta's Capex Is Paying Off, But The Market Doesn't Care
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Meta may rent out excess GPU capacity and build a cloud-computing business are boosting sentiment, since investors see a potential new monetization avenue beyond digital advertising. Meta's push into cloud computing means Wall Street has to prepare for lower margins
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s broader AI strategy is also getting support from bullish coverage that argues the company is chasing a huge enterprise AI-compute opportunity and could eventually re-rate higher if execution improves. Senior Analyst: Meta Is Chasing A $2 Trillion AI Compute Opportunity, But It's Years Behind
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta remains a highly followed stock, with traders and analysts continuing to debate whether its AI investment cycle will translate into sustainable earnings growth or just higher spending. Meta Platforms, Inc. (META) Is a Trending Stock: Facts to Know Before Betting on It
• Negative Sentiment: Zuckerberg also acknowledged that Meta’s AI agents are progressing slower than expected, which reinforces investor concerns that some of the company’s ambitious AI initiatives may take longer to monetize. Zuckerberg says AI agent development going slower than expected
• Negative Sentiment: India reportedly asked Meta to delay its WhatsApp username rollout over fraud concerns, creating a potential regulatory hurdle for one of Meta’s most important messaging growth initiatives. India asks Meta to hold WhatsApp username rollout over fraud fears

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.0%

Meta Platforms stock opened at $582.88 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.47 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $796.25. The business's 50-day moving average price is $602.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $628.20. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current 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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The company had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.56 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.43 earnings per share. Meta Platforms's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 7.63%.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total value of $4,769,642.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 414 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $251,641.62. The trade was a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $681,890.56. The trade was a 65.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 90 days, insiders have sold 39,013 shares of company stock valued at $24,115,999. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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