Meyer Handelman Co. Purchases 2,625 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Meyer Handelman Co. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.0% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 68,107 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 2,625 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.2% of Meyer Handelman Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Meyer Handelman Co.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $38,966,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Keybank National Association OH grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 133,798 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $88,319,000 after acquiring an additional 18,169 shares during the last quarter. WMS Group LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $876,000. Becker Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,052 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $25,741,000 after buying an additional 1,657 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co. lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 84,059 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $55,487,000 after buying an additional 3,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC now owns 6,933 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,091,000 after buying an additional 968 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $562.60 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.42 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $609.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $629.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $520.26 and a 52-week high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. The company had revenue of $56.31 billion for 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.43 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of several research reports. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $725.00 price target (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Meta Platforms from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $835.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $935.00 to $945.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $840.60.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is being highlighted as a market outperformer, with coverage noting it has exceeded broader market returns, reinforcing the view that investors still see strong fundamentals behind the stock. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Meta and EssilorLuxottica launched a cheaper new line of AI smart glasses starting at $299, which could expand adoption of its wearables strategy and support long-term growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy,” suggesting Wall Street still sees upside potential despite recent volatility. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple pieces point to Meta being a preferred growth stock for long-term investors, including commentary citing billionaire Dan Loeb’s bullish stance. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage comparing Meta with Snap underscores Meta’s much larger revenue base and more consistent growth, but this is more of a fundamentals refresher than a new catalyst. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Google is limiting Meta’s use of Gemini AI models raise a potential constraint on Meta’s access to outside AI compute capacity, which could be a modest headwind for its AI development plans. Article Title

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 504 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $629.29, for a total value of $317,162.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,943 shares in the company, valued at $2,481,290.47. This represents a 11.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 140 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total value of $84,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 12,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,707,600. This represents a 1.08% 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 39,013 shares of company stock valued at $24,115,999. 13.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.