Levin Capital Strategies L.P. Acquires 5,605 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Levin Capital Strategies L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 569.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,589 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,605 shares during the quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,770,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. RHL Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Bayban raised its position in Meta Platforms by 100.0% during the first quarter. Bayban now owns 70 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Key Capital Management INC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META opened at $595.19 on Monday. 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’s 50 day moving average price is $604.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $625.53. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $796.25. The stock has a market cap of $1.51 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.25.

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 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 period last year, the company earned $6.43 EPS. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.49 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 7.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $750.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Benchmark initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Wolfe Research cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $835.64.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares in the company, valued at $681,890.56. This represents a 65.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.75, for a total transaction of $303,875.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,092,483.25. This represents a 12.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 36,393 shares of company stock worth $22,141,163. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: A new free verification badge system for Facebook users, which may improve trust and platform quality. Fast Company article
• Positive Sentiment: A dedicated Marketplace seller app with tools for merchants, aimed at making Facebook commerce more useful and organized. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street commentary remained constructive, with articles highlighting Meta as a strong momentum stock and a potentially attractive AI-era value name.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment stayed favorable, including a report that Wells Fargo raised its price target on Meta to $835.00.

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.