Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Makes New $15.27 Million Investment in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd opened a new position in Meta Platforms, buying 26,683 shares valued at about $15.27 million in the first quarter.
• Meta reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $10.44 beating expectations and revenue of $56.31 billion, up 33.1% year over year.
• Recent developments remain broadly positive for the stock, including the rollout of Muse Image, an upgrade from Erste Group Bank, and a $840 consensus price target from analysts.

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 26,683 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $15,266,000.

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

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $615.58 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $600.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $627.42. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $1.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. The company had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. Meta Platforms's revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.43 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched Muse Image, a new AI image-generation tool inside Meta AI for consumers and businesses. The rollout could help increase engagement across Instagram, WhatsApp and other apps, while giving advertisers and creators a new reason to use Meta’s ecosystem. Meta expands generative AI tools with Muse Image rollout
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank upgraded Meta from hold to buy, adding to bullish sentiment around the stock. Meta Platforms NASDAQ: META Raised to "Buy" at Erste Group Bank
• Positive Sentiment: Truist Securities also reiterated a Buy view and an $840 price target, reinforcing the case that Wall Street still sees meaningful upside in META.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 140 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total value of $84,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 12,846 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,707,600. This trade represents a 1.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of Meta Platforms 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 transaction, the insider owned 1,118 shares in the company, 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. Insiders sold 39,513 shares of company stock worth $24,419,874 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wedbush upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $750.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and set a $760.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $840.64.

About Meta Platforms

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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