Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stock Position Decreased by Acorn Financial Advisory Services Inc. ADV

Key Points

• Acorn Financial Advisory Services Inc. ADV cut its Meta Platforms stake by 24.9% in the first quarter, selling 1,528 shares and leaving it with 4,616 shares valued at about $2.64 million.
• Meta continues to attract strong analyst interest, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $840.64, even though several firms recently lowered their targets slightly.
• The company’s latest results were solid, as Meta beat earnings and revenue expectations and posted 33.1% year-over-year revenue growth, while investors remain focused on whether its heavy AI spending will drive future returns.

Acorn Financial Advisory Services Inc. ADV trimmed its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 24.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,616 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 1,528 shares during the period. Acorn Financial Advisory Services Inc. ADV's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,641,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of META. RHL Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Bayban grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Bayban now owns 70 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is being viewed more favorably by some analysts because its AI-powered ads are reportedly improving advertiser returns, which supports revenue growth and suggests its AI spending is starting to pay off. Meta's Capex Is Paying Off, But The Market Doesn't Care
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Meta may rent out excess GPU capacity and build a cloud-computing business are boosting sentiment, since investors see a potential new monetization avenue beyond digital advertising. Meta's push into cloud computing means Wall Street has to prepare for lower margins
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s broader AI strategy is also getting support from bullish coverage that argues the company is chasing a huge enterprise AI-compute opportunity and could eventually re-rate higher if execution improves. Senior Analyst: Meta Is Chasing A $2 Trillion AI Compute Opportunity, But It's Years Behind
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta remains a highly followed stock, with traders and analysts continuing to debate whether its AI investment cycle will translate into sustainable earnings growth or just higher spending. Meta Platforms, Inc. (META) Is a Trending Stock: Facts to Know Before Betting on It
• Negative Sentiment: Zuckerberg also acknowledged that Meta’s AI agents are progressing slower than expected, which reinforces investor concerns that some of the company’s ambitious AI initiatives may take longer to monetize. Zuckerberg says AI agent development going slower than expected
• Negative Sentiment: India reportedly asked Meta to delay its WhatsApp username rollout over fraud concerns, creating a potential regulatory hurdle for one of Meta’s most important messaging growth initiatives. India asks Meta to hold WhatsApp username rollout over fraud fears

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the subject of several recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $750.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $810.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Susquehanna upgraded Meta Platforms from a "positive" rating to a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $725.00 price target (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $840.64.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $582.88 on Monday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $796.25. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $602.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $628.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.47 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.19, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The business had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.43 earnings per share. Meta Platforms's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 140 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total transaction of $84,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 12,846 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,707,600. The trade was a 1.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider owned 1,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $681,890.56. The trade was a 65.03% 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 39,013 shares of company stock valued at $24,115,999. 13.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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