Watershed Asset Management L.L.C. Purchases 1,640 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Watershed Asset Management increased its Meta Platforms stake by 47.6% in the first quarter, buying 1,640 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 5,087 shares valued at about $2.91 million.
• Meta’s latest earnings were strong, with $10.44 EPS beating expectations and revenue rising 33.1% year over year to $56.31 billion.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive despite some mixed calls: the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $835.64, while Meta’s shares were recently trading down 2.6%.

Watershed Asset Management L.L.C. raised its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 47.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,087 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 1,640 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 3.0% of Watershed Asset Management L.L.C.'s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Watershed Asset Management L.L.C.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,910,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in META. RHL Group LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Bayban raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Bayban now owns 70 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Key Capital Management INC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $48,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Wedbush initiated coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 16th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $671.00 price target on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $835.64.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of META stock opened at $627.17 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month high of $796.25. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $605.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $626.29. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.59 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.43 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 30.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total transaction of $2,012,047.56. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,498 shares in the company, valued at $5,708,013.06. This trade represents a 26.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a 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, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares in the company, valued at $681,890.56. The trade was a 65.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 37,948 shares of company stock worth $23,184,319 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: A Florida teen dropped his lawsuit against Meta over alleged social-media addiction harms ahead of trial, reducing legal overhang and removing a potential headline risk for the company.
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies said Meta’s AI glasses could become a long-term hardware growth driver, noting strong early product reception and Meta’s first-mover advantage in shipping AI glasses at scale.
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports highlighted strong demand for AI infrastructure led by Meta, including record hyperscaler leasing and speculation around a large compute deal with Anthropic, reinforcing confidence in Meta’s AI spending strategy.
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo and Rothschild & Co Redburn both raised price targets on Meta, signaling that some Wall Street analysts remain constructive on the stock’s longer-term upside.
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta continues to face mixed sentiment around its AI push, including scrutiny over heavy capital spending and broader concerns about big-tech debt and future infrastructure commitments.
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary comparing Meta with other Magnificent 7 names suggests investors are watching upcoming earnings closely for signs that the company can re-accelerate enthusiasm around the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts cited by Zacks warned Meta may report weaker earnings growth in its upcoming results, which could weigh on sentiment if the company disappoints expectations.
• Negative Sentiment: Several articles continued to focus on regulatory and legal risks tied to social-media harms, including criticism of Meta’s platforms and broader scrutiny of addictive features.

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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