Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stake Raised by Allstate Corp

Allstate Corp increased its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 109.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 165,384 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 86,405 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 1.5% of Allstate Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Allstate Corp’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $109,168,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MSH Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 65.9% during the 4th quarter. MSH Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,291 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,512,000 after acquiring an additional 910 shares in the last quarter. Summitry LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Summitry LLC now owns 90,918 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $60,014,000 after acquiring an additional 9,632 shares during the period. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,875 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $7,179,000 after acquiring an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. Linden Rose Investment LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,184,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,609,892 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $4,363,124,000 after acquiring an additional 113,474 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $681,890.56. This represents a 65.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $629.29, for a total value of $317,162.16. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,943 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,481,290.47. This trade represents a 11.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 42,860 shares of company stock valued at $26,555,260 over the last three months. 13.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wolfe Research cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Wedbush upgraded Meta Platforms from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $840.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $840.60.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META opened at $622.98 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market cap of $1.58 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $618.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $636.74. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company 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 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 7.63%.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched an enterprise-focused AI “business agent” designed to help companies handle customer inquiries, recommend products, book appointments, and automate daily operations across WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram. Investors see this as a new subscription-like revenue opportunity beyond ads. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage from multiple outlets suggested Meta’s AI agent strategy could expand into the business market and help diversify revenue, reinforcing the bull case that the company can monetize AI more effectively. CNBC article
• Positive Sentiment: Areté Research upgraded Meta Platforms (META) from hold to strong-buy and set a $735 target, adding to the favorable analyst tone around the stock. Finviz reference
• Positive Sentiment: Meta also won a partial legal victory in Europe after a court backed its challenge to the EU’s “gatekeeper” designation for Marketplace, which could reduce regulatory pressure on part of the business. Reuters article
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta’s metaverse unit saw another management change, with Metaverse Products Group lead Gabriel Aul quietly leaving and being replaced by Saxs Persson. This is more of an internal reshuffle than a clear stock catalyst. Business Insider article
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported that a high-profile hack exposed weaknesses in Meta’s AI support chatbot, highlighting security risks as the company automates sensitive account functions. Reuters article
• Negative Sentiment: State attorneys general also urged a court to revive antitrust claims against Meta, keeping regulatory and legal overhangs in the background. MediaPost article

Meta Platforms Company 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.