Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Purchased by PARUS FINANCE UK Ltd

Key Points

• PARUS FINANCE UK Ltd boosted its Meta Platforms stake by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, ending with 53,677 shares valued at about $35.4 million. Meta is now the firm’s third-largest holding, representing 9.2% of its portfolio.
• Meta reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $10.44 versus estimates of $6.67 and revenue of $56.31 billion, up 33.1% year over year. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share.
• Recent trading and analyst sentiment are mixed: insiders have sold shares over the past 90 days, while analysts still rate Meta a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $840.60. The stock opened at $585.39, below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.

PARUS FINANCE UK Ltd increased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 53,677 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,545 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 9.2% of PARUS FINANCE UK Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. PARUS FINANCE UK Ltd's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $35,432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Westchester Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. RHL Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total value of $4,769,642.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $251,641.62. The trade was a 94.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total value of $1,748,612.10. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 10,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,645,103.65. This trade represents a 20.83% 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 have sold a total of 41,305 shares of company stock valued at $25,567,928 over the last 90 days. 13.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META opened at $585.39 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $619.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $636.72. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $520.26 and a 52-week high of $796.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.48 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.23.

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. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The business had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.43 EPS. Meta Platforms's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Trending Headlines about 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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the subject of several analyst reports. Guggenheim decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group lowered Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Susquehanna upgraded Meta Platforms from a "positive" rating to a "positive" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an "overweight" rating for the company. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $840.60.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding META? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.