SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda Raises Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 90.1% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 8,480 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,020 shares during the period. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $4,852,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of META. RHL Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Bayban lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Bayban now owns 70 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Key Capital Management INC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 3.4%

Shares of META opened at $606.10 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.53 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $796.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $604.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $625.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.43 EPS. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 30.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 (DPR) is presently 7.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the topic of several research reports. Arete Research set a $735.00 price objective on Meta Platforms and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Wedbush assumed coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $671.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $767.00 to $835.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $835.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.75, for a total value of $303,875.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,092,483.25. This represents a 12.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider owned 1,118 shares in the company, valued at $681,890.56. This trade represents a 65.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 37,948 shares of company stock worth $23,184,319. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: A Florida teen dropped a social-media addiction lawsuit against Meta before trial, reducing near-term legal pressure and removing a potential headline risk for the company. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo reportedly raised its price target on Meta, reinforcing Wall Street’s bullish long-term view despite near-term volatility. Article
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies said Meta’s AI glasses could become a meaningful long-term hardware growth opportunity, highlighting the company’s first-mover advantage in AI wearables. Article
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and commentators continue to point to strong demand for Meta’s data-center and AI infrastructure buildout, with some seeing that spending as evidence of aggressive positioning in the AI race. Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta launched a new AI-optimism ad campaign and Zuckerberg has been publicly pushing back against “AI doomerism,” but the messaging also highlights ongoing backlash over AI risks and product criticism. Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta’s stock is in focus ahead of earnings, with some technical traders noting it is trading below several key moving averages and could remain volatile if results or guidance disappoint. Article
• Negative Sentiment: Meta dropped out of a major clean-energy pact while its natural-gas power buildout accelerates, which could fuel criticism from ESG-focused investors and increase scrutiny of its AI infrastructure strategy. Article
• Negative Sentiment: Several reports suggest investors are worried about Meta’s heavy AI capex, with comparisons to other megacap tech names showing the market is increasingly focused on whether spending will pay off. Article

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.