Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Venturi Wealth Management LLC

Key Points

• Venturi Wealth Management cut its Meta Platforms stake by 36.7% in the first quarter, though it still held 29,963 shares valued at about $17.1 million.
• Meta shares were up slightly and the company remains heavily owned by institutions, with 79.91% of the stock held by institutional investors and hedge funds.
• Meta beat quarterly expectations with $10.44 EPS on $56.31 billion in revenue, and analysts still see upside overall with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a target price of $840.60.

Venturi Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 36.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,963 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 17,388 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $17,142,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RHL Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Key Capital Management INC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $48,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.3%

META opened at $564.11 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market cap of $1.43 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.51, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $796.25. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $607.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $629.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.43 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on META. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $835.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Wedbush upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $810.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised shares of Meta Platforms from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $840.60.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta continues to draw bullish commentary from analysts and investors who view it as a strong long-term growth story, with some recent coverage calling it a market favorite and one of billionaire Dan Loeb’s preferred growth holdings.
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Meta is rolling out a cheaper new line of smart glasses, starting at $299, support the company’s push beyond social media into wearable AI hardware and could broaden adoption.
• Positive Sentiment: One recent article argued Meta has clear AI-driven upside over the next several years, reinforcing the view that its scale, ad business, and AI investments could support higher earnings over time.
• Neutral Sentiment: Mark Zuckerberg is reportedly building a standalone prediction-market app, which could create a new product category, but it remains early and its financial impact is unclear.
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader “Magnificent 7” weakness has weighed on mega-cap tech stocks overall, adding a market-level headwind even for companies with strong fundamentals.
• Negative Sentiment: The lawsuit ruling in the Facebook and Instagram addiction case keeps legal exposure alive and could increase uncertainty around Meta’s platform practices and future costs. Mark Zuckerberg's Meta loses bid to toss lawsuit alleging Facebook and Instagram addict children

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total value of $4,769,642.01. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 414 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $251,641.62. The trade was a 94.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through 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, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at $681,890.56. This trade represents a 65.03% 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 39,013 shares of company stock worth $24,115,999. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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