Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Acquired by Summitry LLC

Key Points

• Summitry LLC increased its Meta Platforms stake by 11.8% in the fourth quarter, buying 9,632 more shares and bringing its holdings to 90,918 shares worth about $60.0 million.
• Meta reported strong first-quarter results, with EPS of $10.44 beating estimates by $3.77 and revenue rising 33.1% year over year to $56.31 billion.
• Despite some insider selling, analysts remain broadly upbeat on Meta, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $840.60; the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share.

Summitry LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 11.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 90,918 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,632 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 2.5% of Summitry LLC's holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Summitry LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $60,014,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 34.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 52,252 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $38,373,000 after purchasing an additional 13,311 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 133,798 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $88,319,000 after buying an additional 18,169 shares in the last quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 5.0% during the third quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,052 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $25,741,000 after buying an additional 1,657 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 84,059 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $55,487,000 after buying an additional 3,336 shares during the period. Finally, Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 16.2% during the third quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC now owns 6,933 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,091,000 after buying an additional 968 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $622.98 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $796.25. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.58 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.23. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $618.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $636.74.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total transaction of $1,268,023.68. Following the completion of the sale, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 414 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $251,641.62. This trade represents a 94.99% decrease in their position. 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 90 days, insiders have sold 42,860 shares of company stock valued at $26,555,260. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is pushing deeper into enterprise AI with a new Meta Business Agent for WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram, aimed at helping companies handle customer inquiries, recommendations, and bookings. Investors may see this as a new revenue stream beyond ads. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Meta also won a legal boost in Europe, with courts backing parts of its challenge to EU tech rules tied to Facebook Marketplace. That reduces some regulatory pressure and removes a potential overhang. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts remain constructive, with one firm upgrading Meta to strong-buy and others reiterating bullish views after the company’s commerce expansion and AI push. Finviz reference
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is being highlighted in broader AI-stock coverage as a cheaper-looking way to play the AI boom, which may keep buying interest elevated but is not a company-specific catalyst. Article reference
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta’s shares also received attention after a notable insider sale by the COO and a director, though the trades were made under pre-arranged plans and do not necessarily signal a change in fundamentals. SEC filing
• Negative Sentiment: Meta’s AI rollout has reportedly been delayed again, with the Muse Spark developer API still without a launch date. That raises concerns about how quickly Meta can monetize its heavy AI investment. Reuters article
• Negative Sentiment: A high-profile security lapse involving Meta’s AI chatbot, which was tricked into helping attackers access Instagram accounts, spotlighted risks around automation and could weigh on investor confidence. Reuters article
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is also fighting Australia’s proposed news-payment rules, a policy dispute that could create additional legal and regulatory uncertainty. Reuters article

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on META shares. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $760.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Susquehanna raised shares of Meta Platforms from a "positive" rating to a "positive" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wedbush upgraded Meta Platforms from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $810.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $840.60.

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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