Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC lowered its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 13.8% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 13,843 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 2,215 shares during the quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $7,920,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Keybank National Association OH boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 18,169 shares during the last quarter. WMS Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $876,000. Diversified Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 84,059 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $55,487,000 after acquiring an additional 3,336 shares during the last quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 16.2% in the third quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC now owns 6,933 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,091,000 after purchasing an additional 968 shares during the period. Finally, Consolidated Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 61.2% in the fourth quarter. Consolidated Investment Group LLC now owns 7,900 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,215,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the period. 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: Several articles highlighted Meta’s expanding AI and cloud ambitions, including a potential move into the “neocloud” business by renting out excess computing capacity. Supporters argue this could open a new revenue stream and turn heavy AI spending into a long-term advantage.
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary also pointed to Meta’s strong core business, with recent revenue growth and high operating margins reinforcing the case that the company can fund large AI investments while still producing substantial cash flow.
• Neutral Sentiment: One report noted a director sold 500 shares under a pre-arranged 10b5-1 plan. Because the sale was scheduled in advance, it is unlikely to signal a meaningful change in insider sentiment.
• Negative Sentiment: Meta disclosed that four U.S. states are seeking $1.4 trillion in penalties in an upcoming August youth-safety trial over allegations that Facebook and Instagram were designed to be addictive for young users and that the company misled the public about safety. The eye-popping figure raises legal risk and reputational concerns.
• Negative Sentiment: Additional reports said India ordered Meta to remove child abuse-related content and ads from Instagram, adding to regulatory pressure and underscoring ongoing moderation and safety concerns across key markets.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 3.0%

Meta Platforms stock opened at $600.29 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.52 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $601.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $627.66.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.43 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 7.63%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 140 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total value of $84,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 12,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,707,600. This trade represents a 1.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.75, for a total transaction of $303,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,092,483.25. This trade represents a 12.68% decrease in their position. 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 quarter, insiders have sold 39,513 shares of company stock valued at $24,419,874. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price 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. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $840.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,015.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Guggenheim reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $840.64.

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.