Piedmont Capital Management LLC NC Takes $1.23 Million Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Piedmont Capital Management LLC NC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 1,867 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,232,000. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 0.8% of Piedmont Capital Management LLC NC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Keybank National Association OH raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 133,798 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $88,319,000 after buying an additional 18,169 shares in the last quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,052 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $25,741,000 after buying an additional 1,657 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 84,059 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $55,487,000 after buying an additional 3,336 shares in the last quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC now owns 6,933 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,091,000 after buying an additional 968 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Consolidated Investment Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. Consolidated Investment Group LLC now owns 7,900 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,215,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 4.7%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $593.48 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $621.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $635.75. 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 quarter last year, the company posted $6.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued 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 of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 7.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on META shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. Susquehanna upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “positive” rating to a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $840.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total value of $1,748,612.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 10,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,645,103.65. This trade represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 1,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $681,890.56. The trade was 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 39,170 shares of company stock valued at $24,218,565. 13.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched new Facebook AI Mode features that pull answers from public information across its apps, including Groups and Reels, which analysts say could create a major new revenue stream and improve engagement. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Options traders are showing bullish interest after Meta’s AI-fueled pop, suggesting investors are positioning for further upside tied to the new product rollout. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage highlighting Meta’s chip ambitions and broader AI strategy is reinforcing the view that its massive AI capex could eventually translate into greater control over infrastructure and better margins. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several investor-commentary pieces pointed to long-term value creation and argued Meta’s valuation looks attractive versus its growth, but these were mainly opinion-driven rather than new company-specific catalysts. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are still weighing Meta’s huge AI spending, which some articles say could pressure profitability or even raise questions about future financing and dilution if the company keeps ramping investment. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is also facing reputational and regulatory headwinds, including criticism over AI-unit working conditions, the unwind of its Manus deal, and a proposed UK social media ban for users under 16 that could weigh on future engagement. Article Title

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.