Markel Group Inc. Decreases Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Markel Group Inc. cut its Meta Platforms stake by 11.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 31,978 shares and leaving it with 248,303 shares worth about $163.9 million.
• Wall Street sentiment on Meta remains mostly positive, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $840.19, though one firm recently downgraded the stock to hold.
• Meta reported strong quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue estimates with $10.44 EPS and $56.31 billion in revenue, while also announcing a small quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share.

Markel Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 11.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 248,303 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 31,978 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 1.3% of Markel Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Markel Group Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $163,902,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of META. Westchester Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth $26,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Key Capital Management INC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 36.8% in the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 78 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on META. Wall Street Zen downgraded Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Citizens Jmp restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $900.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $810.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $800.00 price objective (down from $880.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $840.19.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $632.51 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.60 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.99, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $617.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $636.92. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.43 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.63%.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched paid subscription plans across its flagship apps and Meta AI, opening a new monetization path that could reduce reliance on ad revenue. Mark Zuckerberg says a Meta cloud computing business 'definitely on the table'
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators are pointing to the subscription push as a meaningful upside driver, with some estimating it could add billions in annual revenue if adoption is strong. Meta's Subscription Push Could Add $13.5 Billion By 2028 Across Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta also said it may eventually use excess AI/data-center capacity for a cloud business, which adds long-term optionality but is still early-stage. Mark Zuckerberg says a Meta cloud computing business 'definitely on the table'
• Neutral Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend, which is modest but reinforces capital-return strength. Meta Announces Quarterly Cash Dividend
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported Meta’s employee mouse-click tracking tool for AI training may run into EU privacy concerns, creating regulatory risk around data collection and cross-border use. Exclusive: Meta tool to track employee mouse clicks on collision course with EU privacy rules
• Negative Sentiment: Recent commentary from Jim Cramer and disclosures of insider selling add some caution around execution and valuation. Jim Cramer Says Meta “Has Not Excelled in a Visible Way”

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total value of $1,748,612.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 10,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,645,103.65. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total value of $1,268,023.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 40,890 shares of company stock valued at $25,315,558. 13.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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