Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stock Holdings Lifted by Unison Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Unison Asset Management sharply increased its Meta stake by 294.8% in the fourth quarter, making Meta its largest holding at 12.1% of the portfolio. The fund now owns 40,783 shares valued at about $26.9 million.
• Meta reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $10.44 and revenue of $56.31 billion, both beating Wall Street estimates. Revenue rose 33.1% year over year, and analysts now expect full-year EPS of 29.35.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, while analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and an average price target of $840.60. Recent news also highlighted a new enterprise-focused AI business agent and a partial legal win in Europe.

Unison Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 294.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,783 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 30,452 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 12.1% of Unison Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Unison Asset Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $26,920,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was 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 directly owned 13,186 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,014,978.24. The trade was a 41.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 stock was 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 directly owned 1,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $681,890.56. This trade represents a 65.03% 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 42,860 shares of company stock valued at $26,555,260. 13.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on META shares. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $850.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $760.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Benchmark started coverage on Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, UBS Group downgraded Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $840.60.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched a new Meta Business Agent for WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram, targeting enterprise customers and giving investors a potential new revenue stream beyond advertising. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Meta won a partial legal victory in Europe over the EU’s treatment of Marketplace under tech rules, easing one regulatory overhang. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive overall, with at least one recent upgrade to strong-buy and multiple bullish price targets tied to Meta’s commerce and AI initiatives. Finviz reference

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.7%

META opened at $627.57 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average is $618.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $636.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35. The company has a market cap of $1.59 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.81, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. The company had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.Meta Platforms's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.43 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

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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