Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Acquired by Watershed Asset Management L.L.C.

Watershed Asset Management L.L.C. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 47.6% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,087 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,640 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 3.0% of Watershed Asset Management L.L.C.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Watershed Asset Management L.L.C.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,910,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of META. RHL Group LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Bayban grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Bayban now owns 70 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META stock opened at $627.17 on Thursday. 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’s 50-day moving average is $605.14 and its 200-day moving average is $626.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.59 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 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 earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS 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 business had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 30.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 7.63%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 1,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $681,890.56. The trade was a 65.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total transaction of $4,769,642.01. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $251,641.62. The trade was a 94.99% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 37,948 shares of company stock valued at $23,184,319 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $835.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,015.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Wolfe Research lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $775.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $835.64.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: A Florida teen dropped his lawsuit against Meta over alleged social-media addiction harms ahead of trial, reducing legal overhang and removing a potential headline risk for the company.
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies said Meta’s AI glasses could become a long-term hardware growth driver, noting strong early product reception and Meta’s first-mover advantage in shipping AI glasses at scale.
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports highlighted strong demand for AI infrastructure led by Meta, including record hyperscaler leasing and speculation around a large compute deal with Anthropic, reinforcing confidence in Meta’s AI spending strategy.
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo and Rothschild & Co Redburn both raised price targets on Meta, signaling that some Wall Street analysts remain constructive on the stock’s longer-term upside.
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta continues to face mixed sentiment around its AI push, including scrutiny over heavy capital spending and broader concerns about big-tech debt and future infrastructure commitments.
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary comparing Meta with other Magnificent 7 names suggests investors are watching upcoming earnings closely for signs that the company can re-accelerate enthusiasm around the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts cited by Zacks warned Meta may report weaker earnings growth in its upcoming results, which could weigh on sentiment if the company disappoints expectations.
• Negative Sentiment: Several articles continued to focus on regulatory and legal risks tied to social-media harms, including criticism of Meta’s platforms and broader scrutiny of addictive features.

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.