Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,245 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,373 shares during the quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $17,324,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in META. Westchester Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. RHL Group LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Key Capital Management INC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $593.00 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.56, a PEG ratio of 1.05 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $618.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $636.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The company’s revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.43 EPS. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on META shares. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $885.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 20th. Barclays raised their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $835.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $840.60.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Negative Sentiment: Meta is reportedly weighing a large stock sale to fund AI infrastructure, sparking dilution concerns and pressuring the shares. Article: Meta weighs big equity raising after blockbuster Google deal
• Negative Sentiment: Meta’s AI rollout has faced another delay, with the Muse Spark developer API still lacking a launch date, raising questions about when the company can monetize its AI investments. Article: Meta repeatedly pushes back new AI model release for developers
• Negative Sentiment: Privacy concerns resurfaced after reports that Meta smart glasses could use facial-recognition-style “faceprint” tracking, which could invite regulatory scrutiny and consumer backlash. Article: Code Reveals Meta Smart Glasses Can Use ‘Faceprint’ Tracking, Raising Privacy Alarms
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is also battling renewed policy and legal pressure in Australia over proposed payments for news, adding another regulatory overhang. Article: Meta accuses Australia of breaching FTA, invokes US ‘trade action’
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta continues to receive bullish long-term commentary from some analysts and investors who view it as a major AI and advertising platform, but that optimism is being overshadowed today by funding and execution concerns. Article: Analyst Sees Multi-Billion Dollar Potential In Meta Platforms’ Subscription Model

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total transaction 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. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 504 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $629.29, for a total transaction 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 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 sold 41,305 shares of company stock worth $25,567,928. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.