Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Founders Financial Securities LLC

Key Points

• Founders Financial Securities LLC reduced its Meta Platforms stake by 8.9% in the first quarter, selling 1,061 shares and ending with 10,914 shares valued at about $6.86 million.
• Several institutional investors also adjusted positions in Meta, and hedge funds and institutions now own 79.91% of the company’s stock.
• Meta continues to receive mostly bullish analyst coverage, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $840.60, even as some firms trimmed their targets slightly.

Founders Financial Securities LLC decreased its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 8.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,914 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 1,061 shares during the quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $6,858,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lexington Hill Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth approximately $243,000. Genesis Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Genesis Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,009 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,149,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Baron Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 28.6% in the 1st quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,017 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,154,000 after buying an additional 449 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the first quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 33,122 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $18,951,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Physicians Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.5% in the first quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc. now owns 13,251 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $7,581,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $850.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Guggenheim lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Roth Mkm restated a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, 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 research report on Thursday, April 30th. Three 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $840.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at $681,890.56. The trade was a 65.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 140 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total transaction of $84,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 12,846 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,707,600. This represents a 1.08% 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. Insiders have sold 39,013 shares of company stock worth $24,115,999 in the last ninety days. 13.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is making a major strategic push in India, investing $900 million in fintech startup CRED and appointing its founder, Kunal Shah, to lead WhatsApp. Investors may view this as a growth-oriented move that strengthens Meta’s positioning in a key market. Indian fintech firm CRED to raise $900 million from Meta at $4.5 billion valuation
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and commentators continued to highlight upside potential for META, with reports noting Wall Street price targets implying substantial upside and framing the recent pullback as a buying opportunity. Meta Taps New WhatsApp Boss as Part of $900 Million Investment
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is expanding Instagram beyond mobile with new TV features, a product move that could open another engagement channel but is not yet a material financial catalyst. Meta Takes on Streaming Giants With New ‘Instagram for TV' Offerings
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is pausing an internal mouse-tracking and employee activity program while it reviews data-security concerns. The move may reduce near-term controversy, but it also underscores internal governance and privacy issues around its AI efforts. Meta to pause internal mouse-tracking tech while examining data security issues
• Negative Sentiment: Reports of a leaked employee-activity database from Meta’s AI training program intensified backlash and raised concerns about internal data security and employee trust, which can weigh on sentiment. Meta pauses an AI training program that tracks employees' keystrokes after a companywide leak
• Negative Sentiment: Shares are also being dragged by a broader tech selloff, with Meta included in a drop across the Magnificent 7 as investors rotate out of high-growth names. The Magnificent 7 Selloff Is a Rare Buying Opportunity

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $563.85 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $619.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $633.52. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a market capitalization of $1.43 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $520.26 and a 52-week high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company 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 firm posted $6.43 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. 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 (DPR) is 7.63%.

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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