Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Strategy Capital LLC

Key Points

• Strategy Capital LLC trimmed its Meta Platforms stake by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 17,177 shares and ending with 148,299 shares valued at about $97.9 million.
• Meta reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $10.44 versus $6.67 expected and revenue of $56.31 billion, up 33.1% year over year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, while analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $840.60.

Strategy Capital LLC cut its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 10.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 148,299 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 17,177 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 7.2% of Strategy Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Strategy Capital LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $97,891,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in META. Westchester Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. RHL Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 504 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $629.29, for a total transaction of $317,162.16. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,943 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,481,290.47. The trade was a 11.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total transaction of $4,769,642.01. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 414 shares in the company, valued at $251,641.62. The trade was a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 41,305 shares of company stock worth $25,567,928. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $566.98 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week 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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.43 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.23. The company's 50 day moving average price is $621.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $635.89.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.43 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is presently 7.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on META shares. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an "overweight" rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $725.00 price objective (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Finally, Benchmark assumed coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $840.60.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is expanding its AI infrastructure globally, including a new AI-enabled data center partnership in India with Reliance Industries, reinforcing confidence in its long-term artificial intelligence strategy.
• Positive Sentiment: The company launched Instagram Plus globally, an optional subscription product that could help diversify revenue beyond advertising.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and commentary from Morgan Stanley, Zacks, and others continued to describe Meta as a high-quality growth and compounder stock, with recent earnings still viewed as strong.

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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