Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Bought by United Asset Strategies Inc.

United Asset Strategies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,576 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,421 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 2.3% of United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $28,936,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Clare Market Investments LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth $17,680,000. Sather Financial Group Inc lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 7.8% during the first quarter. Sather Financial Group Inc now owns 1,316 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $753,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Montz Harcus Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the first quarter. Montz Harcus Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,708 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,694,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Advance Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.6% in the first quarter. Advance Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,286 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $736,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Signet Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.8% during the first quarter. Signet Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,040 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $595,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $669.21 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $598.11 and a 200 day moving average of $626.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.69 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.33, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its 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. The company had revenue of $56.31 billion for 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%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.43 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Key Meta Platforms News

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

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total transaction of $1,268,023.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $681,890.56. This trade represents a 65.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through 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 Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total transaction of $2,012,047.56. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 9,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,708,013.06. This represents a 26.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 40,083 shares of company stock worth $24,628,719. 13.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on META. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $1,015.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $850.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded Meta Platforms from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. 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 given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $838.26.

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.