WMS Group LLC Acquires Shares of 1,327 Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• WMS Group LLC opened a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter, buying 1,327 shares valued at about $876,000. The stake represents roughly 1.1% of the firm’s holdings.
• Meta continues to attract significant institutional interest, with several other investors increasing their positions and 79.91% of the stock now held by institutional investors.
• Meta reported a strong latest quarter, posting $10.44 EPS on revenue of $56.31 billion, well ahead of estimates. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $840.60.

WMS Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,327 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $876,000. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 1.1% of WMS Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Keybank National Association OH lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 133,798 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $88,319,000 after buying an additional 18,169 shares during the last quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 5.0% during the third quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,052 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $25,741,000 after acquiring an additional 1,657 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 84,059 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $55,487,000 after acquiring an additional 3,336 shares during the period. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 16.2% in the third quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC now owns 6,933 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,091,000 after acquiring an additional 968 shares during the period. Finally, Consolidated Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. Consolidated Investment Group LLC now owns 7,900 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,215,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $577.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The company has a market capitalization of $1.46 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.23. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $621.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $634.15. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.43 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on META. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an "overweight" rating for the company. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Meta Platforms from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Wedbush upgraded Meta Platforms from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $935.00 to $945.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Friday, March 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $840.60.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street commentary remains constructive on Meta’s long-term AI strategy, with Evercore ISI’s Mark Mahaney naming META one of the best “Magnificent 7” stock buys, reinforcing the view that the stock may still offer upside after its recent pullback. Article: Famous Wall Street Tech Analyst Names Meta and Amazon the Best Magnificent 7 Stock Buys Today
• Positive Sentiment: Meta continues to expand its AI infrastructure, including new computing deals with Crusoe and a strategic data-center partnership in India, which supports the company’s long-term AI capacity and monetization plans. Article: Meta signs new AI computing deals with data center firm Crusoe
• Positive Sentiment: Meta also drew favorable attention for rolling out new AI features for Facebook creators and broader AI tools that could deepen engagement and create new ad products over time. Article: Meta Platforms Rolls Out New AI Features On Facebook For Content Creators
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta continues to get attention for its cloud-computing ambitions, but that move is still viewed as a longer-term optionality story rather than an immediate earnings driver. Article: Meta and Cloud Computing: Real Potential, or a Shot in the Dark?
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta’s strong last reported quarter and upcoming dividend remain supportive, but these are already well known and are not the main catalysts behind today’s trading. Article: META stock and company profile
• Negative Sentiment: Sentiment was hurt by reports that a senior AI executive is leaving Meta during a major AI transition, raising execution concerns at a time when the company is trying to accelerate its artificial intelligence roadmap. Article: Meta head of product for 'AI for work' transformation is leaving company
• Negative Sentiment: Meta was also hit by reports that attackers exploited its AI-powered support chatbot to take over high-profile Instagram accounts, adding security and trust concerns around its AI tools and platform controls. Article: Meta faces AI support breach as key internal AI executive exits
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is also facing regulatory and legal pressure, including a Washington high court decision upholding a $35 million campaign finance penalty, which adds to headline risk. Article: Washington high court upholds $35 million campaign finance penalty against Meta

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total value of $1,748,612.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 10,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,645,103.65. This represents a 20.83% 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 40,568 shares of company stock valued at $25,057,365. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

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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