Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stock Holdings Lifted by Constant Guidance Financial LLC

Constant Guidance Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 282.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,949 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 3,656 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 2.2% of Constant Guidance Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Constant Guidance Financial LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,267,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 70,221 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $46,352,000 after acquiring an additional 6,798 shares during the period. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 44,341 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $29,269,000 after acquiring an additional 4,157 shares during the period. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $163,000. IFG Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 9,452 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $6,239,000 after buying an additional 1,262 shares during the period. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 37.1% in the 4th quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. now owns 680 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $449,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares in the company, valued at $681,890.56. This represents a 65.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 837 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $629.29, for a total value of $526,715.73. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 12,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,171,959.94. This trade represents a 6.06% 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 42,860 shares of company stock valued at $26,555,260. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on META shares. Wall Street Zen cut Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $775.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $760.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $840.60.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $593.00 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $618.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $636.57. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $796.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.56, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

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.