SHP Wealth Management Purchases Shares of 7,130 Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• SHP Wealth Management opened a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter, buying 7,130 shares valued at about $4.7 million. The stake now represents roughly 0.4% of the firm’s portfolio.
• Large institutional investors remain heavily invested in Meta, with firms like Vanguard, State Street, and Geode Capital all increasing their holdings. Overall, about 79.9% of Meta’s stock is owned by institutions.
• Meta recently reported strong earnings, beating expectations with $10.44 EPS on revenue of $56.31 billion, and it also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share. Analysts still rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus target price of about $840.60.

SHP Wealth Management acquired a new position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 7,130 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $4,705,000. Meta Platforms comprises about 0.4% of SHP Wealth Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 7,269,279 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 90,841,345 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $59,963,463,000 after purchasing an additional 4,395,763 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 52,806,712 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $34,734,628,000 after purchasing an additional 878,396 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 39,558,637 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $26,112,735,000 after purchasing an additional 310,947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 37,553,102 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $24,788,429,000 after buying an additional 823,883 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META opened at $577.22 on Monday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $796.25. The company has a market cap of $1.46 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.98, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.23. The company's fifty day moving average price is $621.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $634.10. 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 (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts' expectations of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The business's revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.43 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is 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 7.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on META. Wedbush raised shares of Meta Platforms from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $840.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $810.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $775.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Citizens Jmp reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $900.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $840.60.

Key Meta Platforms News

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 Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total transaction of $1,268,023.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $681,890.56. The trade was a 65.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 414 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $251,641.62. This trade 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 a total of 39,013 shares of company stock worth $24,115,999 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

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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