Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Has $17.90 Million Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC lessened its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 6.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,284 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 2,025 shares during the period. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $17,899,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. RHL Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Bayban lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 100.0% in the first quarter. Bayban now owns 70 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.75, for a total value of $303,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,092,483.25. The trade was a 12.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Also, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total transaction of $1,268,023.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,118 shares in the company, valued at $681,890.56. This trade represents a 65.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 37,948 shares of company stock valued at $23,184,319. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: A Florida teen dropped his lawsuit against Meta over alleged social-media addiction harms ahead of trial, reducing legal overhang and removing a potential headline risk for the company.
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies said Meta’s AI glasses could become a long-term hardware growth driver, noting strong early product reception and Meta’s first-mover advantage in shipping AI glasses at scale.
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports highlighted strong demand for AI infrastructure led by Meta, including record hyperscaler leasing and speculation around a large compute deal with Anthropic, reinforcing confidence in Meta’s AI spending strategy.
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo and Rothschild & Co Redburn both raised price targets on Meta, signaling that some Wall Street analysts remain constructive on the stock’s longer-term upside.
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta continues to face mixed sentiment around its AI push, including scrutiny over heavy capital spending and broader concerns about big-tech debt and future infrastructure commitments.
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary comparing Meta with other Magnificent 7 names suggests investors are watching upcoming earnings closely for signs that the company can re-accelerate enthusiasm around the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts cited by Zacks warned Meta may report weaker earnings growth in its upcoming results, which could weigh on sentiment if the company disappoints expectations.
• Negative Sentiment: Several articles continued to focus on regulatory and legal risks tied to social-media harms, including criticism of Meta’s platforms and broader scrutiny of addictive features.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. 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 research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Benchmark assumed coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set a “buy” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $725.00 price objective (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $750.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $835.64.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of META stock opened at $627.17 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $605.14 and its 200-day moving average is $626.29. The stock has a market cap of $1.59 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.80, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $520.26 and a 52-week high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The business had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 30.04 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.63%.

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.