Meta Platforms, Inc. $META is Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC's 8th Largest Position

Key Points

• Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors trimmed its Meta Platforms stake by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, but Meta remained its 8th largest position at 43,905 shares worth about $28.98 million.
• Meta’s latest earnings beat expectations, with Q1 results of $10.44 per share on $56.31 billion in revenue, while revenue jumped 33.1% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains mostly positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $840.60, even as the stock recently traded down 5.5% and faced concerns over AI spending, delays, and regulatory issues.

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC reduced its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,905 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 2,076 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 1.6% of Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $28,981,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 3.8% during 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 stake in Meta Platforms by 1.9% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $64,158,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,650,435 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 39,247,690 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $28,823,375,000 after buying an additional 278,180 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,153,754 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $12,597,374,000 after buying an additional 142,229 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.1% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,332,168 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $10,525,258,000 after buying an additional 558,792 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $810.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Wall Street Zen cut Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Piper Sandler started coverage on Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday. They issued an "overweight" rating on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $850.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $840.60.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 5.5%

META opened at $593.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $618.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $636.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.23. 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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion for 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%.Meta Platforms's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.43 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Negative Sentiment: Meta is reportedly weighing a large stock sale to fund AI infrastructure, sparking dilution concerns and pressuring the shares. Article: Meta weighs big equity raising after blockbuster Google deal
• Negative Sentiment: Meta’s AI rollout has faced another delay, with the Muse Spark developer API still lacking a launch date, raising questions about when the company can monetize its AI investments. Article: Meta repeatedly pushes back new AI model release for developers
• Negative Sentiment: Privacy concerns resurfaced after reports that Meta smart glasses could use facial-recognition-style “faceprint” tracking, which could invite regulatory scrutiny and consumer backlash. Article: Code Reveals Meta Smart Glasses Can Use 'Faceprint' Tracking, Raising Privacy Alarms
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is also battling renewed policy and legal pressure in Australia over proposed payments for news, adding another regulatory overhang. Article: Meta accuses Australia of breaching FTA, invokes US 'trade action'
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta continues to receive bullish long-term commentary from some analysts and investors who view it as a major AI and advertising platform, but that optimism is being overshadowed today by funding and execution concerns. Article: Analyst Sees Multi-Billion Dollar Potential In Meta Platforms’ Subscription Model

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, 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 value of $1,268,023.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,118 shares in the company, valued at $681,890.56. This trade represents a 65.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total transaction of $4,769,642.01. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $251,641.62. This represents a 94.99% decrease in their position. 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 42,860 shares of company stock valued at $26,555,260. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

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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