Spectrum Financial Alliance Ltd LLC Takes $14.46 Million Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Spectrum Financial Alliance opened a new position in Meta Platforms during the first quarter, buying 25,271 shares valued at about $14.46 million. The stake makes Meta its 9th-largest holding and about 2.8% of its portfolio.
• Meta reported strong first-quarter earnings, with EPS of $10.44 versus estimates of $6.67 and revenue of $56.31 billion, topping expectations as revenue jumped 33.1% year over year.
• Despite mixed analyst views and some insider selling, Meta remains broadly favored on Wall Street, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $830.45.

Spectrum Financial Alliance Ltd LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 25,271 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $14,458,000. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 2.8% of Spectrum Financial Alliance Ltd LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Keybank National Association OH raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 133,798 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $88,319,000 after purchasing an additional 18,169 shares in the last quarter. WMS Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $876,000. Diversified Trust Co. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 84,059 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $55,487,000 after acquiring an additional 3,336 shares in the last quarter. Consolidated Investment Group LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. Consolidated Investment Group LLC now owns 7,900 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,215,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $132,015,115,000 after acquiring an additional 7,269,279 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $664.54 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.68 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $796.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The company's fifty day moving average price is $602.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $626.87.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 company 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 quarterly revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.43 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $1,015.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. TD Cowen cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $830.45.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary continue to frame Meta as a major AI winner, with reports citing significant upside potential and strong hedge fund support. Muse Image: Can Meta Platforms Inc (META) Kill Two Birds With One Stone?
• Positive Sentiment: Meta is still drawing bullish attention for its heavy AI infrastructure spending, including plans for large-scale data center investment and in-house chip development, which investors view as evidence of an aggressive AI strategy. How Meta Platforms (META) Is Strengthening Its AI Infrastructure With Custom Chips and Massive Computing Expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Meta also received a fresh analyst update from Wedbush with a neutral rating and a $671 price target, implying modest upside from current levels. Benzinga coverage of Wedbush rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage around Meta’s AI chatbot safety changes and oversight-board findings adds to the company’s public-policy and product discussion, but these items are not clearly major financial catalysts. Meta now alerts parents if their teen discussed suicide or self-harm with its AI chatbot Meta Oversight Board finds top AI models less likely to criticize repressive regimes
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is facing a lawsuit from former employees alleging AI-driven layoffs disproportionately affected workers on protected leave, which could create legal and reputational risk. Meta employees sue over alleged AI-driven layoffs targeting workers on leave
• Negative Sentiment: Some broader commentary points to insider selling and concerns about the size of Meta’s capital spending, which could weigh on sentiment if investors worry about returns on its AI investments. Meta Vs. Microsoft: Insider Selling Shows Meta's 1.4 Trillion Existential Crisis Worse Than Microsoft's Legal Woes Meta Is Betting $50 Billion on AI Data Centers. Where Does The Stock Go From Here?

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.75, for a total value of $303,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,443 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,092,483.25. This represents a 12.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 owned 1,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $681,890.56. The trade was a 65.03% decrease in their position. 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 39,503 shares of company stock valued at $24,241,859 in the last 90 days. 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding META? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.