Prospera Financial Services Inc Has $51.20 Million Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Prospera Financial Services increased its Meta Platforms stake by 13.9% in the fourth quarter, ending with 77,523 shares valued at about $51.2 million. Meta now represents roughly 0.8% of the firm’s portfolio.
• Meta stock was down 5.1% and opened at $600.47, even as the company reported strong quarterly results with EPS of $10.44 versus $6.67 expected and revenue of $56.31 billion, up 33.1% year over year.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish: several firms reiterated positive ratings, with a consensus target price of $840.19, while news flow highlighted Meta’s AI execution and monetization potential as key long-term drivers.

Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 13.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 77,523 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,454 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises about 0.8% of Prospera Financial Services Inc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Prospera Financial Services Inc's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $51,195,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 72,030 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $47,546,000 after acquiring an additional 561 shares during the period. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $408,695,000. Pathfinder Wealth Consulting Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,378,000. Carroll Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $210,000. Finally, Buckhead Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $399,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 5.1%

META stock opened at $600.47 on Tuesday. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $617.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $636.73. The company has a market cap of $1.52 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month high of $796.25.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total transaction of $1,748,612.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 10,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,645,103.65. The trade was a 20.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total value of $4,769,642.01. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 414 shares of the company's stock, valued at $251,641.62. This represents a 94.99% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 40,890 shares of company stock valued at $25,315,558 in the last ninety days. 13.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on META shares. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $750.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $835.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Argus reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $800.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $775.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $840.19.

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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