SageGuard Financial Group LLC Purchases 1,246 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• SageGuard Financial Group LLC increased its Meta Platforms stake by 9.1% in the first quarter, buying 1,246 shares and bringing its total to 14,889 shares valued at about $8.52 million.
• Meta reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $10.44 versus consensus of $6.67 and revenue of $56.31 billion, up 33.1% year over year. Analysts now expect the company to earn 29.46 EPS for the full year.
• Despite some insider selling and a mixed analyst backdrop, Meta remains a heavily owned institutional name, with 79.91% of shares held by institutions and a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy.”

SageGuard Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 9.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,889 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 1,246 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 1.3% of SageGuard Financial Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. SageGuard Financial Group LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $8,518,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 transaction of $84,000.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing 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, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 504 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $629.29, for a total value of $317,162.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,943 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,481,290.47. This represents a 11.33% 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. Insiders have sold 39,013 shares of company stock worth $24,115,999 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of META opened at $582.88 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $796.25. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.47 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.25. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $602.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $628.20.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.43 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 7.63%.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is being viewed more favorably by some analysts because its AI-powered ads are reportedly improving advertiser returns, which supports revenue growth and suggests its AI spending is starting to pay off. Meta's Capex Is Paying Off, But The Market Doesn't Care
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Meta may rent out excess GPU capacity and build a cloud-computing business are boosting sentiment, since investors see a potential new monetization avenue beyond digital advertising. Meta's push into cloud computing means Wall Street has to prepare for lower margins
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s broader AI strategy is also getting support from bullish coverage that argues the company is chasing a huge enterprise AI-compute opportunity and could eventually re-rate higher if execution improves. Senior Analyst: Meta Is Chasing A $2 Trillion AI Compute Opportunity, But It's Years Behind
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta remains a highly followed stock, with traders and analysts continuing to debate whether its AI investment cycle will translate into sustainable earnings growth or just higher spending. Meta Platforms, Inc. (META) Is a Trending Stock: Facts to Know Before Betting on It
• Negative Sentiment: Zuckerberg also acknowledged that Meta’s AI agents are progressing slower than expected, which reinforces investor concerns that some of the company’s ambitious AI initiatives may take longer to monetize. Zuckerberg says AI agent development going slower than expected
• Negative Sentiment: India reportedly asked Meta to delay its WhatsApp username rollout over fraud concerns, creating a potential regulatory hurdle for one of Meta’s most important messaging growth initiatives. India asks Meta to hold WhatsApp username rollout over fraud fears

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on META. 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. Barclays lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $1,015.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Wedbush raised Meta Platforms from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Citizens Jmp restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $900.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $840.64.

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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