Leeward Financial Partners LLC Purchases 5,438 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Leeward Financial Partners boosted its Meta Platforms stake by 543.8% in the fourth quarter, adding 5,438 shares and bringing its total holdings to 6,438 shares worth about $4.25 million.
• Wall Street remains broadly bullish on Meta, with the stock carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $840.60 despite one recent downgrade to neutral.
• Meta reported strong quarterly results, including EPS of $10.44 versus $6.67 expected and revenue of $56.31 billion, but the shares were trading down 5.5% amid concerns around AI spending, delayed product launches, and regulatory issues.

Leeward Financial Partners LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 543.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,438 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,438 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 1.2% of Leeward Financial Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Leeward Financial Partners LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $4,250,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in META. Westchester Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. RHL Group LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Key Capital Management INC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $48,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on META. Roth Mkm reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Friday, March 27th. Citizens Jmp reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $900.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "buy" rating and issued a $1,015.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Wedbush raised shares of Meta Platforms from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $840.60.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total value of $1,268,023.68. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at $681,890.56. This represents a 65.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total value of $5,589,088.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,014,978.24. This trade represents a 41.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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. Insiders have sold a total of 42,860 shares of company stock valued at $26,555,260 over the last ninety days. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Negative Sentiment: Meta is reportedly weighing a large stock sale to fund AI infrastructure, sparking dilution concerns and pressuring the shares. Article: Meta weighs big equity raising after blockbuster Google deal
• Negative Sentiment: Meta’s AI rollout has faced another delay, with the Muse Spark developer API still lacking a launch date, raising questions about when the company can monetize its AI investments. Article: Meta repeatedly pushes back new AI model release for developers
• Negative Sentiment: Privacy concerns resurfaced after reports that Meta smart glasses could use facial-recognition-style “faceprint” tracking, which could invite regulatory scrutiny and consumer backlash. Article: Code Reveals Meta Smart Glasses Can Use 'Faceprint' Tracking, Raising Privacy Alarms
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is also battling renewed policy and legal pressure in Australia over proposed payments for news, adding another regulatory overhang. Article: Meta accuses Australia of breaching FTA, invokes US 'trade action'
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta continues to receive bullish long-term commentary from some analysts and investors who view it as a major AI and advertising platform, but that optimism is being overshadowed today by funding and execution concerns. Article: Analyst Sees Multi-Billion Dollar Potential In Meta Platforms’ Subscription Model

Meta Platforms Trading Down 5.5%

Shares of META opened at $593.00 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $796.25. The company has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $618.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $636.57.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. The business had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.43 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is 7.63%.

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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