Oak Grove Capital LLC Acquires Shares of 5,000 Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Oak Grove Capital LLC opened a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter, buying 5,000 shares valued at about $3.3 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high, with about 79.91% of Meta’s stock held by hedge funds and other institutional investors, and several other funds also recently initiated small positions.
• Analyst sentiment is still broadly positive, with Meta carrying a Moderate Buy consensus rating and an average price target of $840.60, despite a few recent target cuts and one downgrade from Goldman Sachs.

Oak Grove Capital LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,000 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $3,300,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Westchester Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. RHL Group LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on META shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $850.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $725.00 price objective (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays increased 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. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $840.60.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META opened at $577.22 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $621.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $634.15. The firm has a market cap of $1.46 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $796.25.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.63%.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street commentary remains constructive on Meta’s long-term AI strategy, with Evercore ISI’s Mark Mahaney naming META one of the best “Magnificent 7” stock buys, reinforcing the view that the stock may still offer upside after its recent pullback. Article: Famous Wall Street Tech Analyst Names Meta and Amazon the Best Magnificent 7 Stock Buys Today
• Positive Sentiment: Meta continues to expand its AI infrastructure, including new computing deals with Crusoe and a strategic data-center partnership in India, which supports the company’s long-term AI capacity and monetization plans. Article: Meta signs new AI computing deals with data center firm Crusoe
• Positive Sentiment: Meta also drew favorable attention for rolling out new AI features for Facebook creators and broader AI tools that could deepen engagement and create new ad products over time. Article: Meta Platforms Rolls Out New AI Features On Facebook For Content Creators
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta continues to get attention for its cloud-computing ambitions, but that move is still viewed as a longer-term optionality story rather than an immediate earnings driver. Article: Meta and Cloud Computing: Real Potential, or a Shot in the Dark?
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta’s strong last reported quarter and upcoming dividend remain supportive, but these are already well known and are not the main catalysts behind today’s trading. Article: META stock and company profile
• Negative Sentiment: Sentiment was hurt by reports that a senior AI executive is leaving Meta during a major AI transition, raising execution concerns at a time when the company is trying to accelerate its artificial intelligence roadmap. Article: Meta head of product for 'AI for work' transformation is leaving company
• Negative Sentiment: Meta was also hit by reports that attackers exploited its AI-powered support chatbot to take over high-profile Instagram accounts, adding security and trust concerns around its AI tools and platform controls. Article: Meta faces AI support breach as key internal AI executive exits
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is also facing regulatory and legal pressure, including a Washington high court decision upholding a $35 million campaign finance penalty, which adds to headline risk. Article: Washington high court upholds $35 million campaign finance penalty against Meta

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 504 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director directly owned 3,943 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,481,290.47. The trade was a 11.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 140 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total value of $84,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 12,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,707,600. The trade was a 1.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 40,568 shares of company stock valued at $25,057,365 in the last quarter. 13.53% of the stock is currently 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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