Levin Capital Strategies L.P. Purchases 5,605 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Levin Capital Strategies increased its Meta Platforms stake by 569.6% in the first quarter, purchasing 5,605 shares and bringing its holdings to 6,589 shares worth approximately $3.77 million.
• Meta reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $10.44 per share and revenue of $56.31 billion, up 33.1% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, equivalent to a 0.4% annual yield.
• Institutional investors own 79.91% of Meta, while analyst sentiment remains favorable: the stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $835.64 versus its reported price of $595.19.

Levin Capital Strategies L.P. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 569.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,589 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,605 shares during the quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,770,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 105,292,277 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $69,502,379,000 after buying an additional 105,154,977 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $22,152,075,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $132,015,115,000 after buying an additional 7,269,279 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 488.1% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,466,595 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $3,608,445,000 after purchasing an additional 4,537,076 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 90,841,345 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $59,963,463,000 after buying an additional 4,395,763 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META opened at $595.19 on Monday. The business's 50 day moving average is $604.51 and its 200 day moving average is $625.53. The company has a market capitalization of $1.51 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 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 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 posted 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.43 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of the business's 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 owned 3,443 shares in the company, valued at $2,092,483.25. The trade was a 12.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at $681,890.56. This trade represents a 65.03% decrease in their position. 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 36,393 shares of company stock worth $22,141,163. Insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: A new free verification badge system for Facebook users, which may improve trust and platform quality. Fast Company article
• Positive Sentiment: A dedicated Marketplace seller app with tools for merchants, aimed at making Facebook commerce more useful and organized. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street commentary remained constructive, with articles highlighting Meta as a strong momentum stock and a potentially attractive AI-era value name.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment stayed favorable, including a report that Wells Fargo raised its price target on Meta to $835.00.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the topic of several recent research reports. Roth Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Citizens Jmp reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $800.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Bank of America lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $885.00 to $820.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued 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 company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $835.64.

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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