Williamson Legacy Group LLC Reduces Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Williamson Legacy Group LLC cut its Meta Platforms stake by 65.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 1,909 shares and leaving it with 996 shares worth about $657,000.
• Several analysts recently adjusted their views on Meta, including Goldman Sachs downgrading the stock from buy to sell, while the broader consensus remains Moderate Buy with an average price target of $840.60.
• Meta reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $10.44 and revenue of $56.31 billion beating expectations, even as the stock traded lower amid concerns about AI spending, delays, privacy issues, and insider selling.

Williamson Legacy Group LLC lowered its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 65.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 996 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 1,909 shares during the quarter. Williamson Legacy Group LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $657,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. TrustBank acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $901,000. Banco de Sabadell S.A boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Banco de Sabadell S.A now owns 4,973 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $3,280,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. Roundview Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 37,792 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $24,946,000 after purchasing an additional 2,210 shares during the period. King Wealth Management Group boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. King Wealth Management Group now owns 23,207 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $15,319,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares during the period. Finally, Flputnam Investment Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 93,194 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $61,517,000 after purchasing an additional 4,314 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on META shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $850.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Friday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $725.00 target price (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report 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 assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $840.60.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Negative Sentiment: Meta is reportedly weighing a large stock sale to fund AI infrastructure, sparking dilution concerns and pressuring the shares. Article: Meta weighs big equity raising after blockbuster Google deal
• Negative Sentiment: Meta’s AI rollout has faced another delay, with the Muse Spark developer API still lacking a launch date, raising questions about when the company can monetize its AI investments. Article: Meta repeatedly pushes back new AI model release for developers
• Negative Sentiment: Privacy concerns resurfaced after reports that Meta smart glasses could use facial-recognition-style “faceprint” tracking, which could invite regulatory scrutiny and consumer backlash. Article: Code Reveals Meta Smart Glasses Can Use 'Faceprint' Tracking, Raising Privacy Alarms
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is also battling renewed policy and legal pressure in Australia over proposed payments for news, adding another regulatory overhang. Article: Meta accuses Australia of breaching FTA, invokes US 'trade action'
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta continues to receive bullish long-term commentary from some analysts and investors who view it as a major AI and advertising platform, but that optimism is being overshadowed today by funding and execution concerns. Article: Analyst Sees Multi-Billion Dollar Potential In Meta Platforms’ Subscription Model

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 504 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $629.29, for a total transaction of $317,162.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,943 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,481,290.47. This trade represents a 11.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was 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 $681,890.56. The trade was a 65.03% 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. Insiders sold 42,860 shares of company stock worth $26,555,260 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 5.5%

Meta Platforms stock opened at $593.00 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month high of $796.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $618.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $636.57. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.56, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.23.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.

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