17,430 Shares in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Acquired by VMS Asset Management Limited

VMS Asset Management Limited acquired a new position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 17,430 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,505,000. Meta Platforms makes up about 4.4% of VMS Asset Management Limited’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Prudential PLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 201,867 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $133,250,000 after buying an additional 5,693 shares during the last quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC now owns 33,309 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $21,987,000 after buying an additional 2,159 shares during the last quarter. Convergence Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Convergence Financial LLC now owns 7,285 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $4,808,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 112.2% in the 4th quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. now owns 3,399 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,244,000 after buying an additional 1,797 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Curio Wealth LLC now owns 1,074 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $717,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group lowered Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $775.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $750.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $840.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total transaction of $1,748,612.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 10,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,645,103.65. The trade was a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were 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 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. Insiders have sold a total of 41,305 shares of company stock worth $25,567,928 over the last three months. 13.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 2.3%

META opened at $570.98 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $1.44 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.76, a PEG ratio of 1.04 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $621.46 and a 200-day moving average of $636.55. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced 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. 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%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.43 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 7.63%.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive on earnings power, with Erste Group raising its FY2027 EPS estimate for Meta and Truist pointing to a potential new subscription business that could add about $20 billion in revenue over time. Truist says Meta is building a new $20B business
• Positive Sentiment: Meta expanded its AI infrastructure strategy by signing a data-center deal with Reliance in India, which could support long-term AI and cloud-scale ambitions. Meta agrees to Indian AI data center deal as hyperscaler bolsters its infrastructure
• Neutral Sentiment: Some commentary argues the market may be overreacting to Meta’s AI capex, saying the spending should be judged by its impact on the core ad business rather than near-term monetization. Meta: The Market’s Perception On AI CapEx Seems Misplaced
• Neutral Sentiment: The broader AI data-center boom is facing scrutiny, with a report saying not all announced gigawatts will actually be built by 2030, adding uncertainty around hyperscaler infrastructure spending. Wall Street’s $800 Billion AI Data Center Bet Is Showing Cracks
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is drawing criticism over a subscription push and broader concerns that its AI strategy still lacks a clear direct revenue path, which may be pressuring sentiment on the stock. Meta’s Subscription Push Exposes Its Weak Hand in AI
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and legal risks remain elevated after the EU ordered Meta to restore WhatsApp access for rival AI chatbots, and a court denied Meta a new trial in the youth social-media addiction case. EU regulators order Meta to allow rival AI chatbots free access to WhatsApp Google and Meta denied new trial in youth social media addiction case
• Negative Sentiment: Security concerns resurfaced after reports said an AI bug helped hackers breach tens of thousands of Instagram accounts, reinforcing worries about product trust and platform risk. Meta A.I. Bug Allowed Hackers to Take Over Instagram Accounts

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.