Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC

Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC lowered its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 13.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,843 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 2,215 shares during the period. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $7,920,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in META. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $20,230,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,537,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares during the last quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 294.7% during the first quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd now owns 150,000 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $86,454,000 after purchasing an additional 112,000 shares during the period. Dymon Asia Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth about $213,000. Finally, Capital & Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at approximately $322,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $600.29 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $601.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $627.66. The company has a market cap of $1.52 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The business had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.43 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on META. BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. UBS Group cut shares of Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Citizens Jmp restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $900.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an "overweight" rating on the stock. Finally, Arete Research set a $735.00 price target on Meta Platforms and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Three research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $840.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 transaction of $1,748,612.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, 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 that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total value of $1,268,023.68. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,118 shares in the company, valued at $681,890.56. This trade represents a 65.03% 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 39,513 shares of company stock worth $24,419,874. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Several articles highlighted Meta’s expanding AI and cloud ambitions, including a potential move into the “neocloud” business by renting out excess computing capacity. Supporters argue this could open a new revenue stream and turn heavy AI spending into a long-term advantage.
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary also pointed to Meta’s strong core business, with recent revenue growth and high operating margins reinforcing the case that the company can fund large AI investments while still producing substantial cash flow.
• Neutral Sentiment: One report noted a director sold 500 shares under a pre-arranged 10b5-1 plan. Because the sale was scheduled in advance, it is unlikely to signal a meaningful change in insider sentiment.
• Negative Sentiment: Meta disclosed that four U.S. states are seeking $1.4 trillion in penalties in an upcoming August youth-safety trial over allegations that Facebook and Instagram were designed to be addictive for young users and that the company misled the public about safety. The eye-popping figure raises legal risk and reputational concerns.
• Negative Sentiment: Additional reports said India ordered Meta to remove child abuse-related content and ads from Instagram, adding to regulatory pressure and underscoring ongoing moderation and safety concerns across key markets.

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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