Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Walter Public Investments Inc.

Walter Public Investments Inc. lessened its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 6.7% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 16,385 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,185 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 2.2% of Walter Public Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Walter Public Investments Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $9,374,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in META. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,635 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,508,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Peak Financial Management Inc. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 101.9% in the first quarter. Peak Financial Management Inc. now owns 981 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $561,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares during the period. Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA raised its position in Meta Platforms by 10.9% in the first quarter. Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA now owns 71,084 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,666,000 after purchasing an additional 6,975 shares during the period. Howe & Rusling Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.6% during the first quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 41,602 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $23,802,000 after purchasing an additional 1,072 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Praxis Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.8% during the first quarter. Praxis Investment Management Inc. now owns 51,270 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $29,333,000 after purchasing an additional 2,359 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on META. Wedbush raised Meta Platforms from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $725.00 price objective (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research 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 assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $838.26.

Key Stories Impacting 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 Stock Up 6.0%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $669.21 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. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $796.25. The business has a 50-day moving average of $598.11 and a 200-day moving average of $627.10. The company has a market capitalization of $1.69 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 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 prior year, the business posted $6.43 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 (DPR) is presently 7.63%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.75, for a total transaction of $303,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,092,483.25. This trade represents a 12.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total transaction of $2,012,047.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,708,013.06. The trade was a 26.06% decrease in their position. 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 quarter, insiders sold 44,748 shares of company stock valued at $27,565,292. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.