Polar Capital Holdings Plc Decreases Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Polar Capital Holdings Plc cut its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 38.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 877,058 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 538,229 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 2.2% of Polar Capital Holdings Plc’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Polar Capital Holdings Plc’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $578,937,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First National Bank Sioux Falls raised its holdings in 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 during the period. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 984 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $649,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. Vista Capital Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the second quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $794,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. Arcataur Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Arcataur Capital Management LLC now owns 1,736 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,146,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Acorn Creek Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $1,398,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on META. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $835.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,015.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Three equities 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $840.60.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s new AI Mode in Facebook Search and related AI tools could open a new monetization stream and improve engagement across its apps. Meta introduces AI search and creative tools, Bank of America flags emerging monetization opportunity
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating, saying Meta’s AI strategy remains a key growth catalyst. BofA Reiterates Buy Rating on Meta Platforms (META) Cites AI Strategy a Key Growth Catalyst
• Positive Sentiment: Threads reached 500 million monthly active users, highlighting continued platform growth and stronger user engagement. Meta’s Threads reaches 500 million monthly users, rolls out new features
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta’s CTO said morale in the AI unit is near historic lows, which may reflect execution challenges even as the company doubles down on AI. Meta’s CTO says morale is almost ‘the worst it’s ever been’
• Negative Sentiment: Apple’s upcoming AI-powered AirPods and smart glasses could intensify competition in the AI wearables market, potentially challenging Meta’s device strategy. Apple to launch AI-juiced AirPods and sunglasses, going head-to-head with Meta
• Negative Sentiment: Reports of consumer-protection lawsuits in Europe add another regulatory overhang for Meta. Consumer Protection: Three Chances for Damages from Meta Platforms

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total transaction of $5,589,088.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at $8,014,978.24. The trade was a 41.08% decrease in their position. 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total transaction of $1,748,612.10. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 10,557 shares in the company, valued at $6,645,103.65. This represents a 20.83% 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. Insiders have sold 39,170 shares of company stock valued at $24,218,565 over the last quarter. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of META stock opened at $600.21 on Wednesday. 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 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $796.25. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $622.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $635.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.52 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.82, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.43 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 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.