Verus Capital Partners LLC Acquires 1,351 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Verus Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 12.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 11,828 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,351 shares during the quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $7,808,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth $26,000. RHL Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Key Capital Management INC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $48,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $570.98 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market capitalization 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’s 50-day moving average price is $621.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $636.55. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.63%.

More Meta Platforms News

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $900.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wedbush raised shares of Meta Platforms from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $810.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $840.60.

Insider Activity

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total transaction 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 approximately $251,641.62. This represents a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total value of $5,589,088.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,014,978.24. This trade represents a 41.08% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 41,305 shares of company stock valued at $25,567,928. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

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.