Black Swift Group LLC Sells 9,355 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Black Swift Group LLC trimmed its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 47.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 10,185 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 9,355 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 1.1% of Black Swift Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Black Swift Group LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $6,723,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First National Bank Sioux Falls increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 2,001 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,321,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 984 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $649,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Vista Capital Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $794,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Arcataur Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Arcataur Capital Management LLC now owns 1,736 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,146,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acorn Creek Capital LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC now owns 2,118 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,398,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on META shares. Benchmark initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $835.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Meta Platforms from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $750.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Three equities research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $840.60.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 837 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $629.29, for a total transaction of $526,715.73. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 12,986 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,171,959.94. This represents a 6.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the 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 directly owned 1,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $681,890.56. The trade was a 65.03% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders have sold 41,305 shares of company stock valued at $25,567,928 over the last quarter. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta continues to be viewed as a major AI winner, with Truist calling out a potential next $20 billion business and analysts remaining bullish on the company’s long-term earnings power.
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s $115 million workforce academy and related data-center training initiatives reinforce its aggressive AI infrastructure buildout and commitment to scaling capacity.
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s Best Buy partnership to showcase AI glasses and VR headsets could help drive consumer interest and future hardware adoption.
• Negative Sentiment: EU regulators ordered Meta to restore WhatsApp access for rival AI chatbots, adding antitrust pressure and potentially weakening Meta’s platform advantage.
• Negative Sentiment: A newly reported AI bug that enabled Instagram account takeovers raises fresh cybersecurity and trust concerns for the platform.
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Meta has delayed a key AI rollout are fueling concern that monetization of its AI investments may take longer than expected.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $584.59 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.48 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $620.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $636.68. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. The business had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.43 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. 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 is presently 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.