Meta Platforms, Inc. $META is Peregrine Investment Management Inc.’s 4th Largest Position

Peregrine Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 24.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,770 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,680 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 6.2% of Peregrine Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Peregrine Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $7,878,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 34.2% in the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 52,252 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $38,373,000 after acquiring an additional 13,311 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 133,798 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $88,319,000 after acquiring an additional 18,169 shares during the period. Becker Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 5.0% in the third quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,052 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $25,741,000 after acquiring an additional 1,657 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co. lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 84,059 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $55,487,000 after acquiring an additional 3,336 shares during the period. Finally, Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 16.2% in the third quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC now owns 6,933 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,091,000 after acquiring an additional 968 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $593.00 on Monday. 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 market cap of $1.50 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.56, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $618.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $636.81. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced 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. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The business had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.43 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 7.63%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 504 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $629.29, for a total transaction of $317,162.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,943 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,481,290.47. The trade was a 11.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 837 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $629.29, for a total value of $526,715.73. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 12,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,171,959.94. The trade was a 6.06% 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. Insiders sold 41,305 shares of company stock valued at $25,567,928 in the last three months. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James Financial raised Meta Platforms from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $935.00 to $945.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $900.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Three investment 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $840.60.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Negative Sentiment: Meta is reportedly weighing a large stock sale to fund AI infrastructure, sparking dilution concerns and pressuring the shares. Article: Meta weighs big equity raising after blockbuster Google deal
• Negative Sentiment: Meta’s AI rollout has faced another delay, with the Muse Spark developer API still lacking a launch date, raising questions about when the company can monetize its AI investments. Article: Meta repeatedly pushes back new AI model release for developers
• Negative Sentiment: Privacy concerns resurfaced after reports that Meta smart glasses could use facial-recognition-style “faceprint” tracking, which could invite regulatory scrutiny and consumer backlash. Article: Code Reveals Meta Smart Glasses Can Use ‘Faceprint’ Tracking, Raising Privacy Alarms
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is also battling renewed policy and legal pressure in Australia over proposed payments for news, adding another regulatory overhang. Article: Meta accuses Australia of breaching FTA, invokes US ‘trade action’
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta continues to receive bullish long-term commentary from some analysts and investors who view it as a major AI and advertising platform, but that optimism is being overshadowed today by funding and execution concerns. Article: Analyst Sees Multi-Billion Dollar Potential In Meta Platforms’ Subscription Model

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.