Whittier Trust Co. Increases Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Whittier Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 6.6% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 257,540 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,974 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 1.7% of Whittier Trust Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $147,576,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. RHL Group LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Bayban boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Bayban now owns 70 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META traded up $37.73 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $669.21. The stock had a trading volume of 40,552,700 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,389,378. The stock has a market cap of $1.69 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $598.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $627.10. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.43 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 7.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 9,498 shares in the company, valued at $5,708,013.06. This trade represents a 26.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.75, for a total transaction of $303,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,092,483.25. The trade was a 12.68% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders have sold a total of 44,748 shares of company stock valued at $27,565,292 over the last three months. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $850.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $775.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Raymond James Financial raised Meta Platforms from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $838.26.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s latest AI push is drawing bullish attention, including the launch of Muse Spark 1.1, expanded developer access through its Model API, and reports that the company plans to start producing an in-house AI chip in September. Investors are betting these moves could lower compute costs, reduce reliance on Nvidia and AMD, and open new revenue streams beyond advertising. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Meta is also benefiting from optimism around its cloud and AI infrastructure ambitions, including a new C$13 billion data center in Alberta and commentary that the company may be building a stronger long-term “AI revenue stack” than the market currently prices in. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts and commentators are still constructive on META, with bullish notes saying the stock looks attractively valued relative to its AI growth potential and that recent weakness created an opportunity for long-term investors. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Citizens JMP trimmed its price target to $800 from $825 while maintaining an outperform rating, suggesting continued upside but a slightly more cautious near-term view on valuation and spending. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Meta faces renewed regulatory risk after the European Union said Facebook and Instagram may violate the Digital Services Act with “addictive” design features such as infinite scroll, autoplay, and push notifications, potentially exposing the company to fines and product changes. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Separate reporting also highlighted investor concern that Meta’s aggressive AI capex could pressure margins if monetization takes longer than expected, even though the market is currently rewarding the strategy. Article Title

Meta Platforms 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.