Venturi Wealth Management LLC Lowers Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Venturi Wealth Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 36.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 29,963 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 17,388 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $17,142,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. RHL Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Key Capital Management INC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at about $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $564.11 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.43 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $796.25. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $607.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $629.23. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.43 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta continues to draw bullish commentary from analysts and investors who view it as a strong long-term growth story, with some recent coverage calling it a market favorite and one of billionaire Dan Loeb’s preferred growth holdings.
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Meta is rolling out a cheaper new line of smart glasses, starting at $299, support the company’s push beyond social media into wearable AI hardware and could broaden adoption.
• Positive Sentiment: One recent article argued Meta has clear AI-driven upside over the next several years, reinforcing the view that its scale, ad business, and AI investments could support higher earnings over time.
• Neutral Sentiment: Mark Zuckerberg is reportedly building a standalone prediction-market app, which could create a new product category, but it remains early and its financial impact is unclear.
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader “Magnificent 7” weakness has weighed on mega-cap tech stocks overall, adding a market-level headwind even for companies with strong fundamentals.
• Negative Sentiment: The lawsuit ruling in the Facebook and Instagram addiction case keeps legal exposure alive and could increase uncertainty around Meta’s platform practices and future costs. Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta loses bid to toss lawsuit alleging Facebook and Instagram addict children

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on META shares. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. Erste Group Bank cut Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $840.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Susquehanna upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “positive” rating to a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, UBS Group cut shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $840.60.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider owned 1,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $681,890.56. The trade was a 65.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total value of $5,589,088.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,014,978.24. This trade represents a 41.08% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 39,013 shares of company stock worth $24,115,999. 13.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.