Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd Has $9.58 Million Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 191.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,507 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,537 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 4.4% of Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $9,576,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. First National Bank Sioux Falls increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 2,001 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,321,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 984 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $649,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the second quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $794,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.9% during the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 539 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $396,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arcataur Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Arcataur Capital Management LLC now owns 1,736 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,146,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total transaction of $4,769,642.01. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $251,641.62. This represents a 94.99% decrease in their position. The sale 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, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the 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 sale, the insider directly 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. 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 90 days, insiders sold 42,445 shares of company stock valued at $26,306,420. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched paid subscription plans across its flagship apps and Meta AI, opening a new monetization path that could reduce reliance on ad revenue. Mark Zuckerberg says a Meta cloud computing business ‘definitely on the table’
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators are pointing to the subscription push as a meaningful upside driver, with some estimating it could add billions in annual revenue if adoption is strong. Meta’s Subscription Push Could Add $13.5 Billion By 2028 Across Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta also said it may eventually use excess AI/data-center capacity for a cloud business, which adds long-term optionality but is still early-stage. Mark Zuckerberg says a Meta cloud computing business ‘definitely on the table’
• Neutral Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend, which is modest but reinforces capital-return strength. Meta Announces Quarterly Cash Dividend
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported Meta’s employee mouse-click tracking tool for AI training may run into EU privacy concerns, creating regulatory risk around data collection and cross-border use. Exclusive: Meta tool to track employee mouse clicks on collision course with EU privacy rules
• Negative Sentiment: Recent commentary from Jim Cramer and disclosures of insider selling add some caution around execution and valuation. Jim Cramer Says Meta “Has Not Excelled in a Visible Way”

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $840.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wolfe Research decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Arete Research restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $840.19.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $632.51 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The company has a 50-day moving average of $617.84 and a 200 day moving average of $636.88. The firm has a market cap of $1.60 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.99, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. The company had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.43 EPS. 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors 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 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 7.63%.

Meta Platforms 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.