Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.

Key Points

• Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. trimmed its Meta Platforms stake by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 919 shares and leaving it with 207,361 shares valued at about $136.9 million.
• Meta reported strong fourth-quarter earnings, posting $10.44 EPS on $56.31 billion in revenue and beating analyst expectations, while revenue rose 33.1% year over year.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a Moderate Buy consensus and average price target of $840.19, even as some firms recently lowered targets and insider selling has picked up.

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 207,361 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 919 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 1.5% of Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $136,877,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in META. Westchester Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. 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. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 36.8% during the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 78 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META opened at $632.51 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.60 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.25. 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 stock's 50 day simple moving average is $617.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $636.88. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 firm had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.Meta Platforms's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.43 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $908.00 to $865.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen cut Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Wolfe Research decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $840.19.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched paid subscription plans across its flagship apps and Meta AI, opening a new monetization path that could reduce reliance on ad revenue. Mark Zuckerberg says a Meta cloud computing business 'definitely on the table'
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators are pointing to the subscription push as a meaningful upside driver, with some estimating it could add billions in annual revenue if adoption is strong. Meta's Subscription Push Could Add $13.5 Billion By 2028 Across Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta also said it may eventually use excess AI/data-center capacity for a cloud business, which adds long-term optionality but is still early-stage. Mark Zuckerberg says a Meta cloud computing business 'definitely on the table'
• Neutral Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend, which is modest but reinforces capital-return strength. Meta Announces Quarterly Cash Dividend
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported Meta’s employee mouse-click tracking tool for AI training may run into EU privacy concerns, creating regulatory risk around data collection and cross-border use. Exclusive: Meta tool to track employee mouse clicks on collision course with EU privacy rules
• Negative Sentiment: Recent commentary from Jim Cramer and disclosures of insider selling add some caution around execution and valuation. Jim Cramer Says Meta “Has Not Excelled in a Visible Way”

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total value of $1,268,023.68. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $681,890.56. This trade represents a 65.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total value of $5,589,088.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at $8,014,978.24. This trade represents a 41.08% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 42,445 shares of company stock worth $26,306,420 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

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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