Meta Platforms, Inc. $META is Altimeter Capital Management LP’s 2nd Largest Position

Altimeter Capital Management LP cut its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,845,368 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 20,570 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 18.3% of Altimeter Capital Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Altimeter Capital Management LP owned about 0.07% of Meta Platforms worth $1,218,109,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at about $22,152,075,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $132,015,115,000 after acquiring an additional 7,269,279 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 90,841,345 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $59,963,463,000 after acquiring an additional 4,395,763 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 56.2% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 10,043,955 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $6,629,913,000 after buying an additional 3,613,211 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,191,175,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider owned 1,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $681,890.56. This represents a 65.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 140 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total transaction of $84,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 12,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,707,600. The trade was a 1.08% 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 sold 40,568 shares of company stock valued at $25,057,365 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta said Threads has reached 500 million monthly active users, while new community features and feed controls could improve engagement and strengthen the long-term value of its social platform. Reuters: Meta’s Threads reaches 500 million monthly users, rolls out new features
• Positive Sentiment: Meta rolled out AI search and creative tools across Facebook, which analysts say could open a new monetization opportunity and support future ad growth. Proactive Investors: Meta introduces AI search and creative tools, Bank of America flags emerging monetization opportunity
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America reiterated a Buy view on Meta, citing AI strategy as a key growth catalyst, which may help support investor confidence in the company’s long-term earnings potential. Insider Monkey: BofA reiterates Buy rating on Meta Platforms
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is expected to pay its next quarterly dividend next week, a routine shareholder return that is supportive but unlikely to be a major near-term stock driver. Finbold: Meta to pay dividends next week
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported that a Meta executive overseeing part of the company’s AI-for-work restructuring is leaving, adding to concerns about execution during a major AI transition. Reuters: Meta head of product for ‘AI for work’ transformation is leaving company
• Negative Sentiment: Two SEC filings showed COO Javier Olivan sold shares under a pre-arranged 10b5-1 plan, which can still weigh on sentiment even though the sales were scheduled. SEC filing for Javier Olivan transaction
• Negative Sentiment: Recent commentary has also focused on Meta’s heavy AI spending, Reality Labs losses, and valuation concerns, reinforcing fears that profit growth could slow if investment remains elevated. Zacks: Meta Platforms is Overvalued at 5.5X PS

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META opened at $567.58 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $621.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $635.05. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.44 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.63, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.23. 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 (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The firm 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 company earned $6.43 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on META. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $775.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $840.60.

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.