Founders Financial Securities LLC Trims Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Founders Financial Securities LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 8.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,914 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,061 shares during the period. Founders Financial Securities LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $6,858,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Keybank National Association OH lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 133,798 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $88,319,000 after purchasing an additional 18,169 shares during the period. WMS Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $876,000. Becker Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,052 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $25,741,000 after buying an additional 1,657 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 84,059 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $55,487,000 after buying an additional 3,336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC now owns 6,933 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,091,000 after buying an additional 968 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $563.85 on Tuesday. 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 fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25. The stock has a market cap of $1.43 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $619.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $633.52.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The business had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.43 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the topic of several analyst reports. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $840.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Susquehanna raised shares of Meta Platforms from a “positive” rating to a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $1,015.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $885.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Three investment 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $840.60.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total transaction of $5,589,088.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,014,978.24. This trade represents a 41.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through 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, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total value of $4,769,642.01. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 414 shares in the company, valued at $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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 39,013 shares of company stock valued at $24,115,999. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is making a major strategic push in India, investing $900 million in fintech startup CRED and appointing its founder, Kunal Shah, to lead WhatsApp. Investors may view this as a growth-oriented move that strengthens Meta’s positioning in a key market. Indian fintech firm CRED to raise $900 million from Meta at $4.5 billion valuation
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and commentators continued to highlight upside potential for META, with reports noting Wall Street price targets implying substantial upside and framing the recent pullback as a buying opportunity. Meta Taps New WhatsApp Boss as Part of $900 Million Investment
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is expanding Instagram beyond mobile with new TV features, a product move that could open another engagement channel but is not yet a material financial catalyst. Meta Takes on Streaming Giants With New ‘Instagram for TV’ Offerings
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is pausing an internal mouse-tracking and employee activity program while it reviews data-security concerns. The move may reduce near-term controversy, but it also underscores internal governance and privacy issues around its AI efforts. Meta to pause internal mouse-tracking tech while examining data security issues
• Negative Sentiment: Reports of a leaked employee-activity database from Meta’s AI training program intensified backlash and raised concerns about internal data security and employee trust, which can weigh on sentiment. Meta pauses an AI training program that tracks employees’ keystrokes after a companywide leak
• Negative Sentiment: Shares are also being dragged by a broader tech selloff, with Meta included in a drop across the Magnificent 7 as investors rotate out of high-growth names. The Magnificent 7 Selloff Is a Rare Buying Opportunity

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.