Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Position Reduced by Castellan Group

Key Points

• Castellan Group sharply cut its Meta stake in the first quarter, selling 5,065 shares and reducing its position by 83.5% to 1,000 shares worth about $572,000.
• Meta reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $10.44 per share versus $6.67 expected and revenue of $56.31 billion, up 33.1% year over year.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on META, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $840.64, despite mixed views on the company’s heavy AI spending and future monetization.

Castellan Group reduced its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 83.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,000 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 5,065 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 0.1% of Castellan Group's holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Castellan Group's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $572,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. SageGuard Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. SageGuard Financial Group LLC now owns 14,889 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $8,518,000 after purchasing an additional 1,246 shares in the last quarter. Next Level Private LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 6.5% in the first quarter. Next Level Private LLC now owns 1,555 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $890,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.5% in the first quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC now owns 12,408 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $7,099,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Asset Allocation Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at about $220,000. Finally, Tred Avon Family Wealth LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.0% during the first quarter. Tred Avon Family Wealth LLC now owns 4,012 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $2,295,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total value of $1,268,023.68. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at $681,890.56. This represents a 65.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,014,978.24. This trade represents a 41.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 quarter, insiders have sold 39,013 shares of company stock valued at $24,115,999. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $582.88 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month 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. The company has a 50-day moving average of $602.79 and a 200-day moving average of $628.20. The firm has a market cap of $1.47 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.43 EPS. Meta Platforms's revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on META shares. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $725.00 price objective (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Roth Mkm reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $935.00 to $945.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $840.64.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is being viewed more favorably by some analysts because its AI-powered ads are reportedly improving advertiser returns, which supports revenue growth and suggests its AI spending is starting to pay off. Meta's Capex Is Paying Off, But The Market Doesn't Care
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Meta may rent out excess GPU capacity and build a cloud-computing business are boosting sentiment, since investors see a potential new monetization avenue beyond digital advertising. Meta's push into cloud computing means Wall Street has to prepare for lower margins
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s broader AI strategy is also getting support from bullish coverage that argues the company is chasing a huge enterprise AI-compute opportunity and could eventually re-rate higher if execution improves. Senior Analyst: Meta Is Chasing A $2 Trillion AI Compute Opportunity, But It's Years Behind
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta remains a highly followed stock, with traders and analysts continuing to debate whether its AI investment cycle will translate into sustainable earnings growth or just higher spending. Meta Platforms, Inc. (META) Is a Trending Stock: Facts to Know Before Betting on It
• Negative Sentiment: Zuckerberg also acknowledged that Meta’s AI agents are progressing slower than expected, which reinforces investor concerns that some of the company’s ambitious AI initiatives may take longer to monetize. Zuckerberg says AI agent development going slower than expected
• Negative Sentiment: India reportedly asked Meta to delay its WhatsApp username rollout over fraud concerns, creating a potential regulatory hurdle for one of Meta’s most important messaging growth initiatives. India asks Meta to hold WhatsApp username rollout over fraud fears

About Meta Platforms

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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