Vantage Investment Partners LLC Buys 1,110 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Vantage Investment Partners LLC increased its Meta Platforms stake by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, buying 1,110 shares to bring its total holdings to 63,449 shares valued at about $41.9 million.
• Meta continues to see broad institutional support, with 79.91% of its stock owned by institutional investors, even as some executives have recently sold shares under pre-arranged trading plans.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue estimates, and also announced a quarterly dividend as analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy.

Vantage Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 63,449 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,110 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 2.8% of Vantage Investment Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Vantage Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $41,882,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Empirical Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC now owns 22,250 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $14,687,000 after acquiring an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $2,074,000. Wilian Securities LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $764,000. Prospect Financial Services LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Prospect Financial Services LLC now owns 4,297 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $2,836,000 after acquiring an additional 542 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ignite Planners LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 8,989 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $6,441,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total transaction of $4,769,642.01. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 414 shares of the company's stock, valued at $251,641.62. This represents a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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. Also, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total transaction of $1,268,023.68. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 40,890 shares of company stock worth $25,315,558. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by 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 Price Performance

Shares of META opened at $632.51 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $617.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $636.92. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.60 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.99, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on META shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $775.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $840.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $800.00 price target (down from $880.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $810.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Roth Mkm reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $840.19.

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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