Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Styrax Capital LP

Styrax Capital LP reduced its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 18.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 291,469 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 64,006 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 14.7% of Styrax Capital LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Styrax Capital LP’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $192,396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Westchester Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth about $26,000. RHL Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Key Capital Management INC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched AI-powered search on Facebook and new creative tools, which analysts say could expand engagement and create a new revenue stream. Meta introduces AI search and creative tools, Bank of America flags emerging monetization opportunity
• Positive Sentiment: Threads hit 500 million monthly active users, and Meta is rolling out new features to strengthen the app’s role inside its broader social network portfolio. Meta’s Threads reaches 500 million monthly users, rolls out new features
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating, citing Meta’s AI strategy as a key growth catalyst, which adds to investor confidence. BofA Reiterates Buy Rating on Meta Platforms (META) Cites AI Strategy a Key Growth Catalyst
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta will pay its next quarterly dividend on June 25, continuing its shareholder-return program, which is supportive but not a major near-term catalyst. Meta to pay dividends next week; Here’s how much 100 META shares will earn
• Negative Sentiment: Meta continues to face legal and reputational pressure related to youth safety and harmful content, which can weigh on sentiment even when the underlying business is improving. Italian mother takes on Meta, TikTok after daughter’s death
• Negative Sentiment: Apple is moving deeper into AI-enabled wearables, creating a potential competitive threat to Meta’s AI glasses and broader consumer-device ambitions. Apple to launch AI-juiced AirPods and sunglasses, going head-to-head with Meta

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and set a $760.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $775.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $840.60.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $600.21 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $796.25. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $622.04 and its 200 day moving average is $635.51. The firm 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 (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The company had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total transaction of $4,769,642.01. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 414 shares in the company, valued at $251,641.62. This represents a 94.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 504 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $629.29, for a total value of $317,162.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,943 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,481,290.47. The trade was a 11.33% 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 have sold 39,170 shares of company stock worth $24,218,565 over the last quarter. 13.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms 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.