Meeder Asset Management Inc. Sells 15,187 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Meeder Asset Management trimmed its Meta Platforms stake by 17.3% in the first quarter, selling 15,187 shares and leaving it with 72,800 shares worth about $41.7 million.
• Meta’s latest earnings beat expectations, with EPS of $10.44 versus $6.67 expected and revenue of $56.31 billion, up 33.1% year over year.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive on Meta, with several analysts maintaining Buy/Outperform ratings and a consensus target price around $835.64, even as some recent targets were adjusted slightly lower or higher.

Meeder Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 17.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 72,800 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 15,187 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 2.4% of Meeder Asset Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Meeder Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $41,651,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. RHL Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Bayban raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Bayban now owns 70 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $681,890.56. This trade represents a 65.03% 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, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total transaction 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 $251,641.62. This trade represents a 94.99% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 37,948 shares of company stock valued at $23,184,319. 13.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.8%

NASDAQ:META opened at $595.19 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $796.25. The stock's fifty day moving average is $604.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $625.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.51 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.25. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The company's revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.43 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.49 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Guggenheim lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Citizens Jmp cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $800.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $835.64.

Meta Platforms 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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