Savant Capital LLC Sells 9,358 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Savant Capital LLC lowered its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 18.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 42,223 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 9,358 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $27,871,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. RHL Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider owned 1,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $681,890.56. This represents a 65.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 504 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $629.29, for a total value of $317,162.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,943 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,481,290.47. This trade represents a 11.33% decrease in their position. 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 worth $26,555,260 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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 Trading Down 5.5%

NASDAQ META opened at $593.00 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.50 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.56, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.23. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $796.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $618.83 and a 200-day moving average of $636.57.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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 $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 7.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Benchmark initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial raised Meta Platforms from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wolfe Research cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Three research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $840.60.

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.