Whalerock Point Partners LLC Boosts Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Whalerock Point Partners increased its Meta Platforms stake by 23.3% in the fourth quarter, buying 4,024 additional shares and lifting its position to 21,288 shares worth about $14.1 million.
• Meta’s latest earnings beat expectations, with Q1 EPS of $10.44 versus the $6.67 consensus and revenue of $56.31 billion, up 33.1% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, while analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $840.60.

Whalerock Point Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 23.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,288 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,024 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 2.7% of Whalerock Point Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Whalerock Point Partners LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $14,052,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,080,225 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $713,046,000 after acquiring an additional 44,398 shares during the last quarter. Perryman Financial Advisory Inc. AD bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $4,443,000. Potentia Wealth boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. Potentia Wealth now owns 7,608 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,022,000 after purchasing an additional 909 shares during the last quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 18.3% in the 4th quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC now owns 421 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $278,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parker Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Parker Investment Management LLC now owns 560 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $370,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 4.7%

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $593.48 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.50 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $796.25. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $621.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $635.75. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.43 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched new Facebook AI Mode features that pull answers from public information across its apps, including Groups and Reels, which analysts say could create a major new revenue stream and improve engagement. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Options traders are showing bullish interest after Meta’s AI-fueled pop, suggesting investors are positioning for further upside tied to the new product rollout. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage highlighting Meta’s chip ambitions and broader AI strategy is reinforcing the view that its massive AI capex could eventually translate into greater control over infrastructure and better margins. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several investor-commentary pieces pointed to long-term value creation and argued Meta’s valuation looks attractive versus its growth, but these were mainly opinion-driven rather than new company-specific catalysts. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are still weighing Meta’s huge AI spending, which some articles say could pressure profitability or even raise questions about future financing and dilution if the company keeps ramping investment. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is also facing reputational and regulatory headwinds, including criticism over AI-unit working conditions, the unwind of its Manus deal, and a proposed UK social media ban for users under 16 that could weigh on future engagement. Article Title

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider owned 1,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $681,890.56. This represents a 65.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through 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 company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total transaction of $4,769,642.01. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $251,641.62. The trade was a 94.99% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders have sold 39,170 shares of company stock worth $24,218,565. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $935.00 to $945.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Meta Platforms from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Benchmark assumed coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $850.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $840.60.

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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