Meta Platforms, Inc. $META is California First Leasing Corp's 9th Largest Position

California First Leasing Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 6.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,400 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 3.6% of California First Leasing Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. California First Leasing Corp's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $11,099,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First National Bank Sioux Falls boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 2,001 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,321,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 984 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $649,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the second quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $794,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. Arcataur Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Arcataur Capital Management LLC now owns 1,736 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,146,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Acorn Creek Capital LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC now owns 2,118 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,398,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s latest AI push is drawing bullish attention, including the launch of Muse Spark 1.1, expanded developer access through its Model API, and reports that the company plans to start producing an in-house AI chip in September. Investors are betting these moves could lower compute costs, reduce reliance on Nvidia and AMD, and open new revenue streams beyond advertising. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Meta is also benefiting from optimism around its cloud and AI infrastructure ambitions, including a new C$13 billion data center in Alberta and commentary that the company may be building a stronger long-term “AI revenue stack” than the market currently prices in. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts and commentators are still constructive on META, with bullish notes saying the stock looks attractively valued relative to its AI growth potential and that recent weakness created an opportunity for long-term investors. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Citizens JMP trimmed its price target to $800 from $825 while maintaining an outperform rating, suggesting continued upside but a slightly more cautious near-term view on valuation and spending. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Meta faces renewed regulatory risk after the European Union said Facebook and Instagram may violate the Digital Services Act with “addictive” design features such as infinite scroll, autoplay, and push notifications, potentially exposing the company to fines and product changes. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Separate reporting also highlighted investor concern that Meta’s aggressive AI capex could pressure margins if monetization takes longer than expected, even though the market is currently rewarding the strategy. Article Title

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Meta Platforms stock traded up $37.73 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $669.21. The company had a trading volume of 40,552,700 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,389,378. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $796.25. The company has a market capitalization of $1.69 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.25. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $598.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $627.10.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS 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 business's revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.43 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.46 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on META shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $885.00 to $820.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $838.26.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total transaction of $2,012,047.56. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,708,013.06. The trade was a 26.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing 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 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 1,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $681,890.56. The trade was a 65.03% 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 44,748 shares of company stock worth $27,565,292. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

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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