Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Keystone Financial Group

Key Points

• Keystone Financial Group reduced its Meta Platforms stake by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 2,412 shares and leaving it with 32,891 shares worth about $21.7 million.
• Meta continues to attract heavy institutional ownership, with firms like Vanguard and State Street increasing positions; overall, 79.91% of the stock is held by institutional investors and hedge funds.
• The company recently beat earnings expectations, reporting $10.44 EPS on revenue of $56.31 billion, and also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share.

Keystone Financial Group trimmed its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,891 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 2,412 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up 1.6% of Keystone Financial Group's portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Keystone Financial Group's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $21,711,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $132,015,115,000 after purchasing an additional 7,269,279 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $64,158,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,650,435 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 39,247,690 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $28,823,375,000 after purchasing an additional 278,180 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,153,754 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $12,597,374,000 after purchasing an additional 142,229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,332,168 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $10,525,258,000 after purchasing an additional 558,792 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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”

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $632.51 on Monday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $796.25. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.60 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.23. The company's fifty day moving average price is $617.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $636.92.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.43 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders 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 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 13th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,645,103.65. This trade represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. The transaction 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, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total transaction of $1,268,023.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $681,890.56. The trade was a 65.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 40,890 shares of company stock valued at $25,315,558. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $725.00 price target (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $835.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $840.19.

Meta Platforms Company 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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