Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stake Lifted by Kera Capital Partners Inc.

Key Points

• Kera Capital Partners boosted its Meta Platforms stake by 36% in the fourth quarter, ending with 3,674 shares worth about $2.63 million. The filing underscores continued institutional interest in META, with institutions and hedge funds owning nearly 80% of the stock.
• Meta insiders have been selling shares, including Director Robert M. Kimmitt and COO Javier Olivan, and insiders sold a total of 40,568 shares last quarter worth about $25.1 million. Corporate insiders currently hold about 13.5% of the company.
• Meta recently beat earnings expectations and continues to attract bullish analyst attention, while also expanding its AI infrastructure and features. The stock has a consensus Moderate Buy rating with a price target around $840.60, though the company faces some headline risks from AI-related security and regulatory issues.

Kera Capital Partners Inc. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 36.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,674 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 972 shares during the period. Kera Capital Partners Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,632,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at $26,000. RHL Group LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 504 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $629.29, for a total value of $317,162.16. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,943 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,481,290.47. This represents a 11.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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, COO Javier Olivan sold 140 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total value of $84,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 12,846 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,707,600. This represents a 1.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 sold a total of 40,568 shares of company stock worth $25,057,365 in the last quarter. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street commentary remains constructive on Meta’s long-term AI strategy, with Evercore ISI’s Mark Mahaney naming META one of the best “Magnificent 7” stock buys, reinforcing the view that the stock may still offer upside after its recent pullback. Article: Famous Wall Street Tech Analyst Names Meta and Amazon the Best Magnificent 7 Stock Buys Today
• Positive Sentiment: Meta continues to expand its AI infrastructure, including new computing deals with Crusoe and a strategic data-center partnership in India, which supports the company’s long-term AI capacity and monetization plans. Article: Meta signs new AI computing deals with data center firm Crusoe
• Positive Sentiment: Meta also drew favorable attention for rolling out new AI features for Facebook creators and broader AI tools that could deepen engagement and create new ad products over time. Article: Meta Platforms Rolls Out New AI Features On Facebook For Content Creators
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta continues to get attention for its cloud-computing ambitions, but that move is still viewed as a longer-term optionality story rather than an immediate earnings driver. Article: Meta and Cloud Computing: Real Potential, or a Shot in the Dark?
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta’s strong last reported quarter and upcoming dividend remain supportive, but these are already well known and are not the main catalysts behind today’s trading. Article: META stock and company profile
• Negative Sentiment: Sentiment was hurt by reports that a senior AI executive is leaving Meta during a major AI transition, raising execution concerns at a time when the company is trying to accelerate its artificial intelligence roadmap. Article: Meta head of product for 'AI for work' transformation is leaving company
• Negative Sentiment: Meta was also hit by reports that attackers exploited its AI-powered support chatbot to take over high-profile Instagram accounts, adding security and trust concerns around its AI tools and platform controls. Article: Meta faces AI support breach as key internal AI executive exits
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is also facing regulatory and legal pressure, including a Washington high court decision upholding a $35 million campaign finance penalty, which adds to headline risk. Article: Washington high court upholds $35 million campaign finance penalty against Meta

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $577.22 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.46 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.23. 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 stock's 50-day moving average is $621.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $634.15.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. The business had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.43 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $765.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Barclays increased their target price 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. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $810.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, June 1st. Wolfe Research decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $840.60.

Meta Platforms 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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