Torque Asset Management LLC Has $47.62 Million Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Torque Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 70.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 72,144 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,927 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 16.5% of Torque Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Torque Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $47,622,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in META. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC now owns 3,446 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,275,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $832,000. Brooklands Fund Management Ltd lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 15,000.0% during the 4th quarter. Brooklands Fund Management Ltd now owns 1,510 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,082,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Bluedoor Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $1,042,000. Finally, Cynosure Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 70.8% during the 4th quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 1,921 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,268,000 after acquiring an additional 796 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.1%

NASDAQ META opened at $600.21 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $796.25. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.52 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $622.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $635.51.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 7.63%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total transaction of $5,589,088.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,014,978.24. This represents a 41.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 414 shares in the company, valued at $251,641.62. The trade was a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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. 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 insiders.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched AI-powered search on Facebook and new creative tools, which analysts say could expand engagement and create a new revenue stream. Meta introduces AI search and creative tools, Bank of America flags emerging monetization opportunity
• Positive Sentiment: Threads hit 500 million monthly active users, and Meta is rolling out new features to strengthen the app’s role inside its broader social network portfolio. Meta’s Threads reaches 500 million monthly users, rolls out new features
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating, citing Meta’s AI strategy as a key growth catalyst, which adds to investor confidence. BofA Reiterates Buy Rating on Meta Platforms (META) Cites AI Strategy a Key Growth Catalyst
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta will pay its next quarterly dividend on June 25, continuing its shareholder-return program, which is supportive but not a major near-term catalyst. Meta to pay dividends next week; Here’s how much 100 META shares will earn
• Negative Sentiment: Meta continues to face legal and reputational pressure related to youth safety and harmful content, which can weigh on sentiment even when the underlying business is improving. Italian mother takes on Meta, TikTok after daughter’s death
• Negative Sentiment: Apple is moving deeper into AI-enabled wearables, creating a potential competitive threat to Meta’s AI glasses and broader consumer-device ambitions. Apple to launch AI-juiced AirPods and sunglasses, going head-to-head with Meta

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on META shares. Bank of America cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $885.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $725.00 price objective (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $840.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,015.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, May 28th. 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $840.60.

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.