Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Styrax Capital LP

Key Points

• Styrax Capital LP cut its Meta Platforms stake by 18% in the fourth quarter, selling 64,006 shares and leaving it with 291,469 shares valued at about $192.4 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with large firms like Norges Bank, Vanguard, and State Street adding to or holding sizable positions; institutions and hedge funds now own 79.91% of Meta.
• Meta reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $10.44 beating estimates and revenue of $56.31 billion rising 33.1% year over year, while analysts still maintain a consensus Moderate Buy rating and a target price of $840.60.

Styrax Capital LP reduced its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 18.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 291,469 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 64,006 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up about 14.7% of Styrax Capital LP's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Styrax Capital LP's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $192,396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in META. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $22,152,075,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted 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 worth $132,015,115,000 after purchasing an additional 7,269,279 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 90,841,345 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $59,963,463,000 after acquiring an additional 4,395,763 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,191,175,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,874,837 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $9,818,731,000 after acquiring an additional 1,255,496 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 owned 414 shares in the company, valued at $251,641.62. The trade was a 94.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total value of $5,589,088.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,014,978.24. This represents a 41.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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 sold a total of 39,170 shares of company stock worth $24,218,565 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $600.21 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $796.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.52 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $622.04 and a 200-day moving average of $635.51.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.43 EPS. Meta Platforms's revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is 7.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on META. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $885.00 to $820.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 20th. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen cut Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $765.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Three equities research 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 given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $840.60.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched AI-powered search on Facebook and new creative tools, which analysts say could expand engagement and create a new revenue stream. Meta introduces AI search and creative tools, Bank of America flags emerging monetization opportunity
• Positive Sentiment: Threads hit 500 million monthly active users, and Meta is rolling out new features to strengthen the app’s role inside its broader social network portfolio. Meta's Threads reaches 500 million monthly users, rolls out new features
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating, citing Meta’s AI strategy as a key growth catalyst, which adds to investor confidence. BofA Reiterates Buy Rating on Meta Platforms (META) Cites AI Strategy a Key Growth Catalyst
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta will pay its next quarterly dividend on June 25, continuing its shareholder-return program, which is supportive but not a major near-term catalyst. Meta to pay dividends next week; Here's how much 100 META shares will earn
• Negative Sentiment: Meta continues to face legal and reputational pressure related to youth safety and harmful content, which can weigh on sentiment even when the underlying business is improving. Italian mother takes on Meta, TikTok after daughter's death
• Negative Sentiment: Apple is moving deeper into AI-enabled wearables, creating a potential competitive threat to Meta’s AI glasses and broader consumer-device ambitions. Apple to launch AI-juiced AirPods and sunglasses, going head-to-head with Meta

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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