Candriam S.C.A. Purchases 31,101 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Candriam S.C.A. increased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 12.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 281,020 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 31,101 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 0.8% of Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $160,780,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. RHL Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Bayban grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 100.0% in the first quarter. Bayban now owns 70 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Key Capital Management INC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 2.5%

META opened at $664.54 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $796.25. The stock has a market cap of $1.68 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.16, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a 50 day moving average of $602.45 and a 200-day moving average of $626.87.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. The company 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.43 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 7.63%.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary continue to frame Meta as a major AI winner, with reports citing significant upside potential and strong hedge fund support. Muse Image: Can Meta Platforms Inc (META) Kill Two Birds With One Stone?
• Positive Sentiment: Meta is still drawing bullish attention for its heavy AI infrastructure spending, including plans for large-scale data center investment and in-house chip development, which investors view as evidence of an aggressive AI strategy. How Meta Platforms (META) Is Strengthening Its AI Infrastructure With Custom Chips and Massive Computing Expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Meta also received a fresh analyst update from Wedbush with a neutral rating and a $671 price target, implying modest upside from current levels. Benzinga coverage of Wedbush rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage around Meta’s AI chatbot safety changes and oversight-board findings adds to the company’s public-policy and product discussion, but these items are not clearly major financial catalysts. Meta now alerts parents if their teen discussed suicide or self-harm with its AI chatbot Meta Oversight Board finds top AI models less likely to criticize repressive regimes
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is facing a lawsuit from former employees alleging AI-driven layoffs disproportionately affected workers on protected leave, which could create legal and reputational risk. Meta employees sue over alleged AI-driven layoffs targeting workers on leave
• Negative Sentiment: Some broader commentary points to insider selling and concerns about the size of Meta’s capital spending, which could weigh on sentiment if investors worry about returns on its AI investments. Meta Vs. Microsoft: Insider Selling Shows Meta’s 1.4 Trillion Existential Crisis Worse Than Microsoft’s Legal Woes Meta Is Betting $50 Billion on AI Data Centers. Where Does The Stock Go From Here?

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.75, for a total transaction of $303,875.00. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 1,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $681,890.56. This trade represents a 65.03% 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. Insiders have sold 39,503 shares of company stock valued at $24,241,859 in the last three months. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on META. UBS Group lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $865.00 to $766.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $840.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $775.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Meta Platforms from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $830.45.

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.