Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc Increases Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 35.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 23,800 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,209 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 0.9% of Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $15,710,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Waystone Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $3,592,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 52,806,712 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,734,628,000 after acquiring an additional 878,396 shares during the last quarter. Coordinated Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. Coordinated Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,050 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,353,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 29,269 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $19,320,000 after purchasing an additional 1,445 shares during the period. Finally, King Luther Capital Management Corp lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 196,081 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $129,431,000 after purchasing an additional 10,161 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 5.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $593.00 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $520.26 and a 52-week high of $796.25. The company has a 50 day moving average of $618.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $636.57. The company has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. The business 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.43 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.63%.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Negative Sentiment: Meta is reportedly weighing a large stock sale to fund AI infrastructure, sparking dilution concerns and pressuring the shares. Article: Meta weighs big equity raising after blockbuster Google deal
• Negative Sentiment: Meta’s AI rollout has faced another delay, with the Muse Spark developer API still lacking a launch date, raising questions about when the company can monetize its AI investments. Article: Meta repeatedly pushes back new AI model release for developers
• Negative Sentiment: Privacy concerns resurfaced after reports that Meta smart glasses could use facial-recognition-style “faceprint” tracking, which could invite regulatory scrutiny and consumer backlash. Article: Code Reveals Meta Smart Glasses Can Use ‘Faceprint’ Tracking, Raising Privacy Alarms
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is also battling renewed policy and legal pressure in Australia over proposed payments for news, adding another regulatory overhang. Article: Meta accuses Australia of breaching FTA, invokes US ‘trade action’
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta continues to receive bullish long-term commentary from some analysts and investors who view it as a major AI and advertising platform, but that optimism is being overshadowed today by funding and execution concerns. Article: Analyst Sees Multi-Billion Dollar Potential In Meta Platforms’ Subscription Model

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $835.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wedbush upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Citizens Jmp reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $900.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $840.60.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $681,890.56. This represents a 65.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total value of $4,769,642.01. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $251,641.62. This trade represents a 94.99% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 42,860 shares of company stock valued at $26,555,260. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.