Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Bought by Black Cypress Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Black Cypress Capital Management boosted its Meta Platforms stake by 30.3% in the fourth quarter, buying 3,266 more shares and bringing its holding to 14,045 shares worth about $9.27 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains constructive, with analysts assigning Meta a consensus “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $840.60, even as several firms trimmed their targets slightly.
• Meta continues to post strong business results and new catalysts: its latest quarter beat earnings and revenue estimates, while recent headlines include a $115 million workforce academy for data centers, an end to Italy’s WhatsApp AI bot investigation, and a new Best Buy partnership for “Meta Lab” product showcases.

Black Cypress Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 30.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,045 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 3,266 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 6.5% of Black Cypress Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Black Cypress Capital Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $9,271,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. First National Bank Sioux Falls increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 2,001 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,321,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 984 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $649,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the second quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $794,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Arcataur Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Arcataur Capital Management LLC now owns 1,736 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,146,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acorn Creek Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC now owns 2,118 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,398,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on META. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Friday, March 27th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $935.00 to $945.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Three research 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $840.60.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta announced a partnership with Associated Builders and Contractors to launch a $115 million workforce academy that will train construction technicians for its data center projects, helping address labor shortages and supporting its AI infrastructure expansion. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Italy’s competition regulator dropped its investigation into Meta’s WhatsApp AI bot, removing a legal overhang tied to how the company integrates AI into WhatsApp. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Meta also partnered with Best Buy to create “Meta Lab” experiential spaces where shoppers can test VR headsets and AI glasses, which could help boost hardware awareness and adoption. Article Title

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $585.39 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $1.48 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.23. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $619.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $636.72. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. The business had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.43 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total transaction of $1,748,612.10. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 10,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,645,103.65. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares in the company, valued at $681,890.56. This trade represents a 65.03% 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. Insiders sold 41,305 shares of company stock worth $25,567,928 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Company 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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