Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Marathon Asset Management Ltd

Key Points

• Marathon Asset Management cut its Meta Platforms stake by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, but still held 95,985 shares valued at about $63.4 million. Meta remained its 10th-largest holding, representing roughly 2.4% of the portfolio.
• Meta is expanding beyond advertising with paid subscription plans across its flagship apps and Meta AI, which analysts say could become a major new revenue stream. The company is also floating the idea of using excess AI/data-center capacity for a future cloud business.
• Despite some caution from insider selling and regulatory concerns, Meta reported strong quarterly results with EPS of $10.44 and revenue of $56.31 billion, both beating estimates. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share.

Marathon Asset Management Ltd lessened its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 95,985 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 7,814 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 2.4% of Marathon Asset Management Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Marathon Asset Management Ltd's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $63,357,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of META. Westchester Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 36.8% in the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 78 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Key Meta Platforms News

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, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total transaction of $5,589,088.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at $8,014,978.24. This represents a 41.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider owned 1,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $681,890.56. The trade was a 65.03% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders have sold 42,445 shares of company stock worth $26,306,420 in the last quarter. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $632.51 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year 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 stock's 50-day moving average is $617.84 and its 200 day moving average is $636.88. The firm has a market cap of $1.60 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.99, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.25.

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 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 company had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.43 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 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 is presently 7.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citizens Jmp reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $900.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Tigress Financial upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $935.00 to $945.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Arete Research reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $850.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $840.19.

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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