Meta Platforms, Inc. $META is Cercano Management LLC's 8th Largest Position

Key Points

• Cercano Management LLC increased its Meta Platforms stake by 14.1% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 151,007 shares worth about $99.7 million. Meta is now the firm’s 8th largest position, representing roughly 3.8% of its portfolio.
• Meta remains heavily owned by institutions, with large investors like Vanguard, State Street, Geode Capital, and Norges Bank also adding to or initiating positions. Overall, hedge funds and institutional investors own 79.91% of the company.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $10.44 topping estimates and revenue rising 33.1% year over year to $56.31 billion. Meta also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, payable June 25.

Cercano Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 14.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 151,007 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 18,718 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 3.8% of Cercano Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Cercano Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $99,678,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 7,269,279 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $64,158,971,000 after buying an additional 1,650,435 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 52,806,712 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $34,734,628,000 after buying an additional 878,396 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 39,247,690 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $28,823,375,000 after buying an additional 278,180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $22,152,075,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total value of $4,769,642.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 414 shares in the company, valued at $251,641.62. This represents a 94.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,014,978.24. The trade was a 41.08% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 41,305 shares of company stock valued at $25,567,928. 13.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $584.59 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $620.77 and a 200 day moving average of $636.68. The company has a market cap of $1.48 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.23. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. The company had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The firm's revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.43 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is 7.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $775.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $765.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $840.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $840.60.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta continues to be viewed as a major AI winner, with Truist calling out a potential next $20 billion business and analysts remaining bullish on the company’s long-term earnings power.
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s $115 million workforce academy and related data-center training initiatives reinforce its aggressive AI infrastructure buildout and commitment to scaling capacity.
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s Best Buy partnership to showcase AI glasses and VR headsets could help drive consumer interest and future hardware adoption.
• Negative Sentiment: EU regulators ordered Meta to restore WhatsApp access for rival AI chatbots, adding antitrust pressure and potentially weakening Meta’s platform advantage.
• Negative Sentiment: A newly reported AI bug that enabled Instagram account takeovers raises fresh cybersecurity and trust concerns for the platform.
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Meta has delayed a key AI rollout are fueling concern that monetization of its AI investments may take longer than expected.

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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