Panagora Asset Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,080,225 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 44,398 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 2.5% of Panagora Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Panagora Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $713,046,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $20,230,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,537,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares during the period. Headwater Capital Co Ltd boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 294.7% in the 1st quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd now owns 150,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $86,454,000 after purchasing an additional 112,000 shares during the period. Dymon Asia Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at $213,000. Finally, Capital & Planning LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at $322,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META opened at $593.48 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.50 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $520.26 and a 52-week high of $796.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35. The business’s fifty day moving average is $621.53 and its 200-day moving average is $635.75.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.43 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. 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 7.63%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 504 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $629.29, for a total transaction of $317,162.16. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,943 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,481,290.47. This represents a 11.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total value of $5,589,088.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,014,978.24. This trade represents a 41.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 39,170 shares of company stock worth $24,218,565 in the last quarter. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on META. Wall Street Zen downgraded Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $850.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $840.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $840.60.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched new Facebook AI Mode features that pull answers from public information across its apps, including Groups and Reels, which analysts say could create a major new revenue stream and improve engagement. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Options traders are showing bullish interest after Meta’s AI-fueled pop, suggesting investors are positioning for further upside tied to the new product rollout. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage highlighting Meta’s chip ambitions and broader AI strategy is reinforcing the view that its massive AI capex could eventually translate into greater control over infrastructure and better margins. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several investor-commentary pieces pointed to long-term value creation and argued Meta’s valuation looks attractive versus its growth, but these were mainly opinion-driven rather than new company-specific catalysts. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are still weighing Meta’s huge AI spending, which some articles say could pressure profitability or even raise questions about future financing and dilution if the company keeps ramping investment. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is also facing reputational and regulatory headwinds, including criticism over AI-unit working conditions, the unwind of its Manus deal, and a proposed UK social media ban for users under 16 that could weigh on future engagement. Article Title

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.