Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Cuts Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 76.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 93,403 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 305,987 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 1.4% of Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $61,655,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. McLaughlin Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $2,225,000. Bauman Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $324,000. White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 305.0% during the fourth quarter. White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,867 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,232,000 after acquiring an additional 1,406 shares in the last quarter. Kinloch Capital LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Kinloch Capital LLC now owns 416 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $275,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Waterford Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Waterford Advisors LLC now owns 522 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $345,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $850.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $750.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Benchmark began coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Erste Group Bank downgraded Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $840.60.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is expanding its AI infrastructure by signing new computing deals with Crusoe, which should help support its long-term AI buildout and capacity needs. Reuters: Meta signs new AI computing deals with data center firm Crusoe
• Positive Sentiment: Meta continues to strengthen its AI-led growth narrative through data center expansion in India and new creator-focused AI tools on Facebook, both of which could improve engagement and future monetization. Insider Monkey: Meta rolls out new AI features on Facebook for content creators
• Positive Sentiment: Threads has reached 500 million monthly active users, and Meta is adding new community and feed features, reinforcing the company’s platform growth beyond Facebook and Instagram. Yahoo Finance: Meta reaches 500 million Threads users
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta’s COO Javier Olivan disclosed another pre-planned stock sale, which is notable but not necessarily a fundamental signal since it was executed under a 10b5-1 plan. InsiderTrades: Meta COO sells stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta’s dividend and long-term shareholder-return profile are supportive, but this is unlikely to be the main short-term stock driver. Finbold: Meta to pay dividends next week
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported that Meta is lobbying Congress for legal protection from child-harm lawsuits, keeping regulatory and litigation risk in focus for investors. Reuters: Meta lobbies Congress for protection from child-harm lawsuits
• Negative Sentiment: Concerns around AI execution also weighed on sentiment after Reuters said a key executive overseeing Meta’s “AI for work” transformation is leaving the company. Reuters: Meta head of product for AI for work transformation is leaving company
• Negative Sentiment: Meta was also hit by reports that attackers exploited its AI customer support chatbot to compromise Instagram accounts, raising trust and security concerns around its AI tools. Yahoo Finance: Meta faces AI support breach as key internal AI executive exits

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms 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 value of $317,162.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,943 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,481,290.47. This represents a 11.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total value of $1,268,023.68. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares in the company, valued at $681,890.56. This trade represents a 65.03% 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 sold a total of 40,568 shares of company stock valued at $25,057,365 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META opened at $577.22 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $621.98 and its 200 day moving average is $634.55. 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 company has a market cap of $1.46 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.98, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its 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. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The business had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.63%.

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.