Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Purchases 13,145 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 12.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 119,320 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,145 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 2.9% of Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $78,731,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. RHL Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $48,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and bullish commentators reiterated that Meta may be building a large new subscription opportunity and that the stock still screens as attractive versus its growth potential. Truist says Meta has found its next $20 billion business, stock set to gain more than 40%
• Positive Sentiment: Meta announced a major AI data center lease in India with Reliance Industries, signaling continued infrastructure investment to support its long-term AI strategy and global scale. EU regulators order Meta to allow rival AI chatbots free access to WhatsApp
• Positive Sentiment: Several research pieces highlighted Meta as a long-term AI and advertising winner, arguing that the market may be discounting the value of its AI investments too harshly. Meta: The Market’s Perception On AI CapEx Seems Misplaced
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta drew additional attention after being named in “best stocks to buy” and “forever stock” lists, which may support sentiment but is not a company-specific catalyst by itself. 5 Best Forever Stocks to Buy According to Analysts
• Negative Sentiment: EU regulators ordered Meta to restore WhatsApp access for rival AI chatbots during an antitrust probe, adding another regulatory overhang to the company’s AI and messaging strategy. EU regulators order Meta to allow rival AI chatbots free access to WhatsApp
• Negative Sentiment: Reports of an AI-related Instagram security bug and a landmark youth social-media addiction case increase legal, reputational, and platform-risk concerns. Meta A.I. Bug Allowed Hackers to Take Over Instagram Accounts

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $570.98 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $1.44 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $621.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $636.55. 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 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. The business had revenue of $56.31 billion during 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%.Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.43 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total value of $4,769,642.01. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $251,641.62. This trade represents a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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. Also, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $681,890.56. This trade represents a 65.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 41,305 shares of company stock valued at $25,567,928 over the last quarter. 13.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on META. Citizens Jmp restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $900.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $750.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Friday, March 27th. Erste Group Bank cut Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Three 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $840.60.

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.