Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Acquired by Janus Henderson Group PLC

Key Points

• Janus Henderson Group increased its Meta stake by 12.7% in the first quarter, adding 781,843 shares to hold 6.92 million shares worth approximately $3.94 billion. Meta now represents about 1.9% of Janus Henderson’s portfolio, while institutional investors own 79.91% of the company.
• Meta reported quarterly revenue of $60.8 billion, up 28% year over year, but EPS of $6.18 fell short of the $7.19 consensus estimate. Investor concerns remain focused on accelerating AI infrastructure spending, weaker cash flow and the returns those investments may generate.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $789.95, despite recent target reductions. Meta also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, while insiders have sold 39,325 shares worth nearly $24 million over the past 90 days.

Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 12.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,915,124 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 781,843 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 1.9% of Janus Henderson Group PLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned 0.27% of Meta Platforms worth $3,939,422,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.75, for a total transaction of $303,875.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,443 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,092,483.25. This represents a 12.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 837 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.85, for a total transaction of $508,770.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 6,290 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,823,376.50. The trade was a 11.74% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 39,325 shares of company stock worth $23,979,087 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $556.71 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $520.26 and a 52-week high of $796.25. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $1.41 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $601.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $622.97.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). The company had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.The firm's revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $7.14 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.4 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 (DPR) is presently 7.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Scotiabank reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday. Benchmark started coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut Meta Platforms from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Barclays decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $780.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $789.95.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s core advertising business remains strong. Second-quarter revenue increased 28% year over year to $60.8 billion, while ad impressions, pricing, engagement and AI-powered recommendation tools continued to improve. Advantage+ advertising reportedly reached a $75 billion annualized run rate. Meta: Buy The AI Spending Panic
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts and investment commentators view the selloff as an opportunity, arguing that Meta’s advertising engine can fund its AI investments and that AI is already improving ad performance, personalization and user engagement. Meta also highlighted potential enterprise AI products, personal AI agents and new applications. Buy Meta’s Earnings Drop
• Positive Sentiment: Despite reductions, major firms retained bullish ratings and price targets, including UBS at $715, Baird at $750, Cantor Fitzgerald at $680 and Rosenblatt at $883. The targets imply substantial long-term upside if Meta converts AI spending into monetization. Meta Given New Price Target at Baird
• Neutral Sentiment: The earnings miss was partly affected by approximately $2.4 billion in legal charges and $1.2 billion in severance costs. Excluding these items, supporters argue that underlying profitability was healthier, but reported margins still declined.
• Negative Sentiment: Meta reported $6.18 in quarterly EPS, below expectations near $7.19, while free cash flow fell to only $784 million from $31.9 billion in operating cash flow as AI data-center capital expenditures surged. Investors remain unconvinced that the spending will generate adequate returns soon. Tech’s AI Buildout Has Ballooning Price Tag
• Negative Sentiment: Future AI-related lease obligations reached $279 billion, increasing concerns about balance-sheet commitments and execution risk. Additional legal and regulatory pressure includes a wrongful-death lawsuit alleging that social-media companies harmed minors, plus an Indian police case involving Meta’s India chief over Facebook posts depicting Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Meta’s AI Splurge Lays Bare Its Compute Conundrum

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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