Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Orange Investment Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Orange Investment Advisors reduced its Meta Platforms stake by 8.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 1,734 shares and leaving it with 19,344 shares worth about $12.77 million.
• Meta is pushing new ways to monetize its apps, including paid subscription plans across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Meta AI, which analysts say could add meaningful new revenue over time.
• The company continues to show strong financial results, with its latest quarter beating expectations on both earnings and revenue, but investors are also watching for risks from EU privacy scrutiny and recent insider selling.

Orange Investment Advisors Inc. cut its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 8.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,344 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 1,734 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 1.4% of Orange Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. Orange Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $12,769,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in META. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $132,015,115,000 after acquiring an additional 7,269,279 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 1.9% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $64,158,971,000 after buying an additional 1,650,435 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth approximately $1,191,175,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $813,994,000. Finally, Concentrum Wealth Management lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 948.7% during the third quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management now owns 1,243,577 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $913,000 after buying an additional 1,124,998 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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 Price Performance

META stock opened at $632.51 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a market capitalization of $1.60 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $796.25. The business's fifty day moving average price is $617.84 and its 200 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.43 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 837 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $608.98, for a total transaction of $509,716.26. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 13,823 shares in the company, valued at $8,417,930.54. This represents a 5.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, 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 value of $5,589,088.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,014,978.24. This trade represents a 41.08% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 40,890 shares of company stock worth $25,315,558 over the last quarter. 13.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on META. Argus reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $800.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $800.00 price objective (down from $880.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $760.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $750.00 and set an "overweight" 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 given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently 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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