Northeast Investment Management Increases Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Northeast Investment Management increased its Meta Platforms stake by 1.1% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 106,985 shares valued at about $61.2 million.
• Meta reported strong first-quarter results, with EPS of $10.44 versus $6.67 expected and revenue of $56.31 billion, while revenue grew 33.1% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive overall: Meta has a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $840.60, even though some firms have recently cut targets or downgraded the stock.

Northeast Investment Management raised its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 1.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 106,985 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,168 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 2.5% of Northeast Investment Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Northeast Investment Management's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $61,209,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. RHL Group LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Key Capital Management INC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $562.60 on Tuesday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $609.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $629.84. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $520.26 and a 52-week 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. The company has a market cap of $1.42 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.23.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.63%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 140 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total transaction of $84,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 12,846 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,707,600. This trade represents a 1.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 504 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $629.29, for a total transaction of $317,162.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,943 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,481,290.47. This represents a 11.33% 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. Insiders have sold 39,013 shares of company stock valued at $24,115,999 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on META. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $850.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $750.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $935.00 to $945.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Susquehanna upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a "positive" rating to a "positive" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $840.60.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is being highlighted as a market outperformer, with coverage noting it has exceeded broader market returns, reinforcing the view that investors still see strong fundamentals behind the stock. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Meta and EssilorLuxottica launched a cheaper new line of AI smart glasses starting at $299, which could expand adoption of its wearables strategy and support long-term growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy,” suggesting Wall Street still sees upside potential despite recent volatility. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple pieces point to Meta being a preferred growth stock for long-term investors, including commentary citing billionaire Dan Loeb’s bullish stance. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage comparing Meta with Snap underscores Meta’s much larger revenue base and more consistent growth, but this is more of a fundamentals refresher than a new catalyst. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Google is limiting Meta’s use of Gemini AI models raise a potential constraint on Meta’s access to outside AI compute capacity, which could be a modest headwind for its AI development plans. Article Title

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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