Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Purchased by Aureus Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Aureus Asset Management increased its Meta position by 4.9% in the first quarter, owning 75,751 shares valued at $43.3 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 79.91% of Meta’s stock.
• Meta reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $10.44 versus the $6.67 consensus estimate and revenue of $56.31 billion, up 33.1% year over year. The company also pays a $0.525 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 0.4% yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $835.64, although Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock to “sell.” Meanwhile, insiders sold shares under pre-arranged trading plans during the quarter.

Aureus Asset Management LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 4.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 75,751 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,520 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up about 2.9% of Aureus Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Aureus Asset Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $43,339,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 569.6% in the 1st quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 6,589 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $3,770,000 after purchasing an additional 5,605 shares in the last quarter. Clearwater Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Clearwater Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,526 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $873,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Militia Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth about $428,000. Wiregrass Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Wiregrass Investment Management LLC now owns 3,159 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,808,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alpha Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 5.9% during the first quarter. Alpha Financial Partners LLC now owns 703 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $402,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $595.19 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $1.51 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $796.25. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $604.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $625.53.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. Meta Platforms's revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.43 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were given 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 Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $840.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $750.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and set a $760.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Citizens Jmp reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $800.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $835.64.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.75, for a total transaction of $303,875.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,443 shares in the company, valued at $2,092,483.25. This represents a 12.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total value of $2,012,047.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,498 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,708,013.06. The trade was a 26.06% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 36,393 shares of company stock valued at $22,141,163 over the last quarter. 13.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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