DUTCH ASSET Corp Grows Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

DUTCH ASSET Corp boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 67.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,988 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 2,422 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 2.3% of DUTCH ASSET Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. DUTCH ASSET Corp’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,426,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $20,230,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,537,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares during the last quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 294.7% in the first 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. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at $213,000. Finally, Capital & Planning LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at about $322,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META opened at $595.19 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $604.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $625.76. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month high of $796.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.51 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. The business had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.43 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.63%.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: A new free verification badge system for Facebook users, which may improve trust and platform quality. Fast Company article
• Positive Sentiment: A dedicated Marketplace seller app with tools for merchants, aimed at making Facebook commerce more useful and organized. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street commentary remained constructive, with articles highlighting Meta as a strong momentum stock and a potentially attractive AI-era value name.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment stayed favorable, including a report that Wells Fargo raised its price target on Meta to $835.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total transaction of $2,012,047.56. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,708,013.06. This represents a 26.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through 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 company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total transaction of $1,268,023.68. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares in the company, 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 three months, insiders have sold 37,948 shares of company stock worth $23,184,319. 13.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the subject of several recent research reports. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Mizuho dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $835.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Benchmark assumed coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $835.64.

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.