Brooklands Fund Management Ltd Raises Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Brooklands Fund Management Ltd increased its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 15,000.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,510 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 0.1% of Brooklands Fund Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Brooklands Fund Management Ltd’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,082,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth $26,000. RHL Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s new AI Mode in Facebook Search and related AI tools could open a new monetization stream and improve engagement across its apps. Meta introduces AI search and creative tools, Bank of America flags emerging monetization opportunity
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating, saying Meta’s AI strategy remains a key growth catalyst. BofA Reiterates Buy Rating on Meta Platforms (META) Cites AI Strategy a Key Growth Catalyst
• Positive Sentiment: Threads reached 500 million monthly active users, highlighting continued platform growth and stronger user engagement. Meta’s Threads reaches 500 million monthly users, rolls out new features
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta’s CTO said morale in the AI unit is near historic lows, which may reflect execution challenges even as the company doubles down on AI. Meta’s CTO says morale is almost ‘the worst it’s ever been’
• Negative Sentiment: Apple’s upcoming AI-powered AirPods and smart glasses could intensify competition in the AI wearables market, potentially challenging Meta’s device strategy. Apple to launch AI-juiced AirPods and sunglasses, going head-to-head with Meta
• Negative Sentiment: Reports of consumer-protection lawsuits in Europe add another regulatory overhang for Meta. Consumer Protection: Three Chances for Damages from Meta Platforms

Insider Activity

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total transaction of $4,769,642.01. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $251,641.62. The trade was a 94.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total transaction of $1,748,612.10. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 10,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,645,103.65. The trade was a 20.83% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 39,170 shares of company stock worth $24,218,565. 13.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of META stock opened at $600.21 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $622.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $635.51. 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 cap of $1.52 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.82, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion for 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%. The company’s revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.43 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 7.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on META shares. Arete Research set a $735.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $835.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Benchmark started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $840.60.

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.