Mutual Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Mutual Advisors LLC increased its Meta stake by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, adding 2,786 shares and bringing its total to 51,264 shares worth about $33.8 million.
• Other institutional investors also boosted holdings, with firms like Vanguard, State Street, and others reporting large positions; overall, hedge funds and institutions own 79.91% of Meta’s stock.
• Meta posted strong quarterly results, with EPS of $10.44 versus $6.67 expected and revenue of $56.31 billion, while analysts still rate the stock a “Moderate Buy” despite recent price-target cuts.

Mutual Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,264 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,786 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises about 0.7% of Mutual Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Mutual Advisors LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $33,839,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $132,015,115,000 after purchasing an additional 7,269,279 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.9% in the second 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. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at $1,191,175,000. Concentrum Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 948.7% in the third quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management now owns 1,243,577 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $913,000 after buying an additional 1,124,998 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 209.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 430,434 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $314,340,000 after buying an additional 824,276 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total value of $36,471,323.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total transaction of $1,748,612.10. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 10,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,645,103.65. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 167,676 shares of company stock worth $107,299,848. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $598.86 on Tuesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $796.25. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $625.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $643.49. The firm has a market cap of $1.51 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.25. 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, topping the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The firm 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 EPS. Meta Platforms's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th were given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 7.63%.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Negative Sentiment: Santa Clara County sued Meta, alleging the company earned money from scam advertisements on Facebook and Instagram and violated California false advertising and unfair business practices laws. California county sues Meta over scam ads
• Negative Sentiment: Another report highlighted the same lawsuit, framing it as a claim that Meta earned billions from scam Facebook ads, reinforcing investor worries about reputational damage and possible legal costs. Meta accused of earning billions from scam Facebook ads in new California lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: A plaintiffs’ law firm also announced an investigation into Meta’s board over possible breaches of fiduciary duty tied to privacy oversight and AI training practices, which could keep governance concerns in focus. Berger Montague PC Investigates Meta Platforms, Inc.'s Board of Directors for Breach of Fiduciary Duty (META)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary remained constructive overall, with coverage noting that Wall Street still sees upside in Meta despite recent post-earnings volatility, which may help limit downside. Meta Platforms’ Wild Post-Earnings Swings: Where Analyst Price Targets Stand Now

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of a number of research reports. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $835.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wolfe Research reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $920.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $840.31.

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.

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