Davis R M Inc. Has $74.13 Million Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Davis R M Inc. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 129,575 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 3,728 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up about 1.3% of Davis R M Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Davis R M Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $74,134,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. First National Bank Sioux Falls increased its position in Meta Platforms by 0.7% during 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 acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 984 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $649,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $794,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Arcataur Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Arcataur Capital Management LLC now owns 1,736 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,146,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Acorn Creek Capital LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC now owns 2,118 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,398,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $593.87 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $604.17 and a 200-day moving average of $625.06. The company has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.59, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.25. 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.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. The business 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%. The firm’s revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.43 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders 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 payout ratio is presently 7.63%.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and investors see Meta as attractively valued ahead of Wednesday’s earnings, with estimates suggesting its forward earnings multiple is below historical norms and the broader market. Meta’s record of 13 consecutive earnings beats raises the possibility of another upside surprise. Meta Platforms: Time To Be Greedy
• Positive Sentiment: Revenue growth is expected to benefit from user expansion, higher advertising prices and increased ad volume. Meta is also expanding Meta AI by placing its chatbot in Threads direct messages, potentially increasing engagement and creating additional monetization opportunities over time. Threads users can now chat with Meta AI in their DMs
• Positive Sentiment: Supporters argue Meta can absorb elevated capital expenditures, including as much as $145 billion in 2026 AI spending, because of its strong cash generation and advertising business. Its AI infrastructure plans could also create opportunities to sell excess computing capacity at premium prices. Meta Can Absorb Capex Trouble
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta reports results after the market closes Wednesday, and options traders are pricing a sizable post-earnings move. The report, guidance and commentary on AI returns and spending will likely determine the stock’s near-term direction. Meta Reports Earnings Wednesday
• Negative Sentiment: Concerns about rising costs, heavy capital expenditures and uncertain returns on AI investments are weighing on sentiment. The broader technology sector has recently seen investors sell or fail to reward stocks even after strong earnings, contributing to Meta’s recent decline. Meta Q2 Earnings Loom
• Negative Sentiment: Meta faces ongoing legal and reputational risks. Tennessee attorneys allege that company leadership ignored internal research about Instagram’s effects on teenagers, while a separate lawsuit alleges failures to prevent abuse on Meta’s platforms. Adverse rulings or regulatory action could increase costs and constrain product practices. Meta disregarded its own research on teen harm

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.75, for a total value of $303,875.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,092,483.25. This represents a 12.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $681,890.56. The trade was a 65.03% 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 36,393 shares of company stock valued at $22,141,163. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on META. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and set a $760.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $810.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, June 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $835.64.

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.