Trajan Wealth LLC Grows Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Trajan Wealth LLC increased its Meta Platforms stake by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, adding 6,123 shares to bring its total to 125,487 shares valued at about $82.8 million. Meta is now Trajan Wealth’s 7th largest holding.
• Meta posted strong quarterly results, with earnings of $10.44 per share versus $6.67 expected and revenue of $56.31 billion, topping estimates. Revenue also rose 33.1% year over year, and analysts now expect full-year EPS of 29.35.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish despite some price-target cuts, with MarketBeat showing a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target of $840.19. Meta also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, payable June 25.

Trajan Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 125,487 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 6,123 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises about 3.4% of Trajan Wealth LLC's holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Trajan Wealth LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $82,833,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fortis Group Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 6,860 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $4,908,000 after purchasing an additional 792 shares during the last quarter. Prevail Innovative Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 140.0% in the fourth quarter. Prevail Innovative Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,594 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $6,993,000 after purchasing an additional 6,179 shares during the last quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,994 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,937,000 after purchasing an additional 1,731 shares during the last quarter. Flaharty Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 48.7% in the fourth quarter. Flaharty Asset Management LLC now owns 684 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $452,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Taylor Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 30.7% in the fourth quarter. Taylor Financial Group Inc. now owns 703 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $464,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.4%

NASDAQ META opened at $632.51 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.60 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.99, a PEG ratio of 1.12 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 business's fifty day moving average is $617.84 and its 200-day moving average is $636.88.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 for the quarter was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $6.43 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on META shares. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $885.00 to $820.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price 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. Roth Mkm reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Citizens Jmp reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $900.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $935.00 to $945.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $840.19.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 837 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $608.98, for a total transaction of $509,716.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 13,823 shares in the company, valued at $8,417,930.54. This trade represents a 5.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at 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 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. The trade was a 94.99% decrease in their position. 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 42,445 shares of company stock worth $26,306,420. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched paid subscription plans across its flagship apps and Meta AI, opening a new monetization path that could reduce reliance on ad revenue. Mark Zuckerberg says a Meta cloud computing business 'definitely on the table'
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators are pointing to the subscription push as a meaningful upside driver, with some estimating it could add billions in annual revenue if adoption is strong. Meta's Subscription Push Could Add $13.5 Billion By 2028 Across Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta also said it may eventually use excess AI/data-center capacity for a cloud business, which adds long-term optionality but is still early-stage. Mark Zuckerberg says a Meta cloud computing business 'definitely on the table'
• Neutral Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend, which is modest but reinforces capital-return strength. Meta Announces Quarterly Cash Dividend
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported Meta’s employee mouse-click tracking tool for AI training may run into EU privacy concerns, creating regulatory risk around data collection and cross-border use. Exclusive: Meta tool to track employee mouse clicks on collision course with EU privacy rules
• Negative Sentiment: Recent commentary from Jim Cramer and disclosures of insider selling add some caution around execution and valuation. Jim Cramer Says Meta “Has Not Excelled in a Visible Way”

Meta Platforms 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.

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.