Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Increases Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Vestmark Advisory Solutions boosted its Meta stake by 81.2% in the fourth quarter, ending with 72,052 shares valued at about $47.6 million.
• Other major investors also increased holdings, and institutional ownership remains high at roughly 79.9% of Meta’s shares.
• Analysts remain broadly positive despite some price-target cuts: Meta has a Moderate Buy consensus and a target of about $840.19, while the company also posted strong quarterly earnings and announced a small quarterly dividend.

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 81.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 72,052 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 32,291 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 0.6% of Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $47,561,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 136,789 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $90,293,000 after buying an additional 20,305 shares during the last quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC now owns 28,863 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $19,052,000 after purchasing an additional 1,145 shares during the period. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 118,460 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $78,195,000 after purchasing an additional 2,871 shares in the last quarter. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,980,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intellus Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Intellus Advisors LLC now owns 23,907 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $15,781,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on META. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $765.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Wolfe Research cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $840.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $908.00 to $865.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $850.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $840.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total value of $1,268,023.68. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $681,890.56. This represents a 65.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 dated 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 directly owned 414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $251,641.62. The trade was 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 sold a total of 40,890 shares of company stock valued at $25,315,558 in the last quarter. Insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

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 NASDAQ META opened at $632.51 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.60 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.99, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $796.25. The company's 50-day moving average price is $617.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $636.92. 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion for 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 firm's revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.43 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

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.