Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stake Lowered by JW Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• JW Asset Management cut its Meta Platforms stake by 58.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 12,250 shares and leaving it with 8,700 shares worth about $5.74 million.
• Insiders have also been selling: recent transactions by Curtis J. Mahoney and COO Javier Olivan helped bring total insider sales over the last 90 days to 40,890 shares worth about $25.3 million.
• Meta’s fundamentals remain strong, with its latest earnings beating expectations and revenue rising 33.1% year over year; analysts still rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $840.19.

JW Asset Management LLC reduced its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 58.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,700 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 12,250 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.9% of JW Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. JW Asset Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $5,743,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Key Capital Management INC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 36.8% in the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 78 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total transaction of $1,268,023.68. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $681,890.56. This represents a 65.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a 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 2,778 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total value of $1,748,612.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 10,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,645,103.65. This trade represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 40,890 shares of company stock worth $25,315,558. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on META. Arete Research reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Citizens Jmp reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $900.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $725.00 target price (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms 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, Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $800.00 target price (down from $880.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $840.19.

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 Stock Performance

META opened at $632.51 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.60 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.23. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $617.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $636.92. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $796.25. 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 (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.43 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 7.63%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding META? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.