Green Ridge Wealth Planning LLC Takes $1.99 Million Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Green Ridge Wealth Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 3,012 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,988,000. Meta Platforms makes up about 1.0% of Green Ridge Wealth Planning LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. RHL Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Key Capital Management INC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META opened at $577.22 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $621.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $634.10. The company has a market capitalization of $1.46 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.98, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $796.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.43 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 140 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total transaction of $84,000.00. Following the transaction, 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. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total value of $1,268,023.68. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $681,890.56. This trade represents a 65.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 39,013 shares of company stock valued at $24,115,999. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $810.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, June 1st. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $760.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group lowered Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised Meta Platforms from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $840.60.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street commentary remains constructive on Meta’s long-term AI strategy, with Evercore ISI’s Mark Mahaney naming META one of the best “Magnificent 7” stock buys, reinforcing the view that the stock may still offer upside after its recent pullback. Article: Famous Wall Street Tech Analyst Names Meta and Amazon the Best Magnificent 7 Stock Buys Today
• Positive Sentiment: Meta continues to expand its AI infrastructure, including new computing deals with Crusoe and a strategic data-center partnership in India, which supports the company’s long-term AI capacity and monetization plans. Article: Meta signs new AI computing deals with data center firm Crusoe
• Positive Sentiment: Meta also drew favorable attention for rolling out new AI features for Facebook creators and broader AI tools that could deepen engagement and create new ad products over time. Article: Meta Platforms Rolls Out New AI Features On Facebook For Content Creators
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta continues to get attention for its cloud-computing ambitions, but that move is still viewed as a longer-term optionality story rather than an immediate earnings driver. Article: Meta and Cloud Computing: Real Potential, or a Shot in the Dark?
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta’s strong last reported quarter and upcoming dividend remain supportive, but these are already well known and are not the main catalysts behind today’s trading. Article: META stock and company profile
• Negative Sentiment: Sentiment was hurt by reports that a senior AI executive is leaving Meta during a major AI transition, raising execution concerns at a time when the company is trying to accelerate its artificial intelligence roadmap. Article: Meta head of product for ‘AI for work’ transformation is leaving company
• Negative Sentiment: Meta was also hit by reports that attackers exploited its AI-powered support chatbot to take over high-profile Instagram accounts, adding security and trust concerns around its AI tools and platform controls. Article: Meta faces AI support breach as key internal AI executive exits
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is also facing regulatory and legal pressure, including a Washington high court decision upholding a $35 million campaign finance penalty, which adds to headline risk. Article: Washington high court upholds $35 million campaign finance penalty against Meta

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.