Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Increases Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada increased its Meta Platforms stake by 8.2% in the first quarter, adding 7,780 shares to reach 103,184 shares valued at about $59.1 million.
• Meta stock rose 6.0% to $669.21, with trading volume well above average as investors reacted to the company’s recent performance and outlook.
• Meta’s latest earnings beat expectations, reporting $10.44 EPS on $56.31 billion in revenue, while analysts remain broadly bullish with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and an average price target of $838.26.

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 8.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 103,184 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,780 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 1.2% of Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $59,126,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of META. RHL Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Bayban grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Bayban now owns 70 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.75, for a total value of $303,875.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,443 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,092,483.25. This represents a 12.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through 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 firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 44,748 shares of company stock worth $27,565,292. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 6.0%

Shares of NASDAQ META traded up $37.73 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $669.21. 40,552,700 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,389,378. The company's 50 day moving average price is $598.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $627.10. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $796.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.69 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.25. 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 results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. The company had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.Meta Platforms's revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.43 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "buy" rating and issued a $1,015.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target 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. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $840.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $838.26.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s latest AI push is drawing bullish attention, including the launch of Muse Spark 1.1, expanded developer access through its Model API, and reports that the company plans to start producing an in-house AI chip in September. Investors are betting these moves could lower compute costs, reduce reliance on Nvidia and AMD, and open new revenue streams beyond advertising. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Meta is also benefiting from optimism around its cloud and AI infrastructure ambitions, including a new C$13 billion data center in Alberta and commentary that the company may be building a stronger long-term “AI revenue stack” than the market currently prices in. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts and commentators are still constructive on META, with bullish notes saying the stock looks attractively valued relative to its AI growth potential and that recent weakness created an opportunity for long-term investors. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Citizens JMP trimmed its price target to $800 from $825 while maintaining an outperform rating, suggesting continued upside but a slightly more cautious near-term view on valuation and spending. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Meta faces renewed regulatory risk after the European Union said Facebook and Instagram may violate the Digital Services Act with “addictive” design features such as infinite scroll, autoplay, and push notifications, potentially exposing the company to fines and product changes. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Separate reporting also highlighted investor concern that Meta’s aggressive AI capex could pressure margins if monetization takes longer than expected, even though the market is currently rewarding the strategy. Article Title

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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