State of Wyoming Decreases Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• State of Wyoming reduced its META stake by 42.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 4,203 shares and leaving it with 5,705 shares worth about $3.77 million.
• Meta’s latest earnings beat expectations, reporting EPS of $10.44 versus $6.67 expected and revenue of $56.31 billion, up 33.1% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $840.60, despite some recent price-target cuts and regulatory concerns in Europe.

State of Wyoming lowered its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 42.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,705 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 4,203 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 0.4% of State of Wyoming's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. State of Wyoming's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,766,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of META. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $22,152,075,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $132,015,115,000 after purchasing an additional 7,269,279 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $64,158,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,650,435 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,191,175,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,874,837 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $9,818,731,000 after purchasing an additional 1,255,496 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $570.98 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $520.26 and a 52-week high of $796.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35. The company has a market capitalization of $1.44 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a fifty day moving average of $621.46 and a 200-day moving average of $636.55.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on META shares. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Arete Research set a $735.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $775.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $840.60.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and bullish commentators reiterated that Meta may be building a large new subscription opportunity and that the stock still screens as attractive versus its growth potential. Truist says Meta has found its next $20 billion business, stock set to gain more than 40%
• Positive Sentiment: Meta announced a major AI data center lease in India with Reliance Industries, signaling continued infrastructure investment to support its long-term AI strategy and global scale. EU regulators order Meta to allow rival AI chatbots free access to WhatsApp
• Positive Sentiment: Several research pieces highlighted Meta as a long-term AI and advertising winner, arguing that the market may be discounting the value of its AI investments too harshly. Meta: The Market's Perception On AI CapEx Seems Misplaced
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta drew additional attention after being named in “best stocks to buy” and “forever stock” lists, which may support sentiment but is not a company-specific catalyst by itself. 5 Best Forever Stocks to Buy According to Analysts
• Negative Sentiment: EU regulators ordered Meta to restore WhatsApp access for rival AI chatbots during an antitrust probe, adding another regulatory overhang to the company’s AI and messaging strategy. EU regulators order Meta to allow rival AI chatbots free access to WhatsApp
• Negative Sentiment: Reports of an AI-related Instagram security bug and a landmark youth social-media addiction case increase legal, reputational, and platform-risk concerns. Meta A.I. Bug Allowed Hackers to Take Over Instagram Accounts

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 504 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $629.29, for a total transaction of $317,162.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,943 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,481,290.47. The trade was a 11.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total transaction of $5,589,088.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,014,978.24. This represents a 41.08% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 41,305 shares of company stock worth $25,567,928 in the last three months. 13.53% of the stock is 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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