Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Acquired by Magellan Asset Management Ltd

Key Points

• Magellan Asset Management increased its Meta Platforms stake by 8.3% in the first quarter, adding 39,037 shares for a total of 507,032 shares valued at approximately $290.1 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 79.91% of Meta’s stock.
• Meta insiders sold 36,393 shares worth about $22.1 million over the past 90 days, including sales by an insider and a director conducted under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $835.64. Meta also reported quarterly revenue growth of 33.1% and earnings that exceeded analyst expectations.

Magellan Asset Management Ltd lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 8.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 507,032 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 39,037 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 3.8% of Magellan Asset Management Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Magellan Asset Management Ltd's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $290,088,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. RHL Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Bayban increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total transaction of $1,268,023.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $681,890.56. This trade represents a 65.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.75, for a total value of $303,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,443 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,092,483.25. This trade represents a 12.68% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 36,393 shares of company stock worth $22,141,163. 13.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on META. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Meta Platforms from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $760.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $835.64.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: A new free verification badge system for Facebook users, which may improve trust and platform quality. Fast Company article
• Positive Sentiment: A dedicated Marketplace seller app with tools for merchants, aimed at making Facebook commerce more useful and organized. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street commentary remained constructive, with articles highlighting Meta as a strong momentum stock and a potentially attractive AI-era value name.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment stayed favorable, including a report that Wells Fargo raised its price target on Meta to $835.00.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $595.19 on Monday. 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 market capitalization of $1.51 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $604.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $625.53. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. The company had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The company's revenue for the quarter 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, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 is presently 7.63%.

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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