Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stock Position Trimmed by HS Management Partners LLC

Key Points

• HS Management Partners LLC trimmed its Meta Platforms stake by 17.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 8,725 shares and leaving it with 40,145 shares worth about $26.5 million.
• Despite that sale, Meta continues to attract broad institutional support, with firms like Vanguard and State Street increasing holdings and hedge funds and other institutions owning 79.91% of the stock.
• Analysts remain upbeat on Meta’s outlook, citing its AI momentum and monetization potential; recent calls included RBC’s Outperform rating with an $810 price target and Bank of America’s Buy rating.

HS Management Partners LLC lowered its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 17.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,145 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 8,725 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 5.7% of HS Management Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. HS Management Partners LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $26,499,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in META. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $132,015,115,000 after purchasing an additional 7,269,279 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $64,158,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,650,435 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 39,247,690 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $28,823,375,000 after purchasing an additional 278,180 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,153,754 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $12,597,374,000 after purchasing an additional 142,229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Meta Platforms by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,332,168 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $10,525,258,000 after acquiring an additional 558,792 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed its Outperform rating on Meta and set an $810 price target, signaling meaningful upside from current levels. Tickerreport.com
• Positive Sentiment: A new AI adoption study ranked Meta among the top S&P 500 companies for AI execution, reinforcing the view that its AI investments are becoming strategically important. CNBC
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating and said Meta’s AI monetization and enterprise adoption could help offset concerns about rising spending. Yahoo Finance / Investing.com
• Positive Sentiment: Several outlets highlighted Meta as a top AI and virtual reality stock, adding to the longer-term bullish narrative around its product pipeline and AI push. Motley Fool

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $600.47 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.52 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.23. 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 business's fifty day moving average is $617.71 and its 200 day moving average is $636.73. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is presently 7.63%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 837 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $608.98, for a total value of $509,716.26. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 13,823 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,417,930.54. The trade was a 5.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a 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. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at $8,014,978.24. This represents a 41.08% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 40,890 shares of company stock valued at $25,315,558 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on META shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $850.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $908.00 to $865.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays raised their target price on 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 reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $810.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday. Finally, Roth Mkm reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $840.19.

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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