Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt trimmed its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 18.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 96,106 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 22,450 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 2.2% of Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $54,974,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $251,641.62. The trade was a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total value of $5,589,088.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,014,978.24. This trade represents a 41.08% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 37,948 shares of company stock worth $23,184,319 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $885.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $850.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $750.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $830.45.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America expects Meta to beat second-quarter estimates, citing healthy ad demand and AI-related improvements, with Q2 revenue now seen at $60.6 billion and EPS at $7.50 versus consensus of $60.2 billion and $7.18. Meta Platforms expected to top earnings estimates as ad growth remains healthy, says BofA
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are also encouraged by reports that Meta could monetize its AI buildout more directly, including a potential large-scale computing deal with Anthropic, which could help justify its heavy capex and reduce valuation pressure. Zuckerberg Is Quietly Turning Meta Into A Compute Provider Ahead Of Q2 Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: BlackRock’s $12 billion financing for new Meta data centers in Texas underscores strong outside confidence in Meta’s AI infrastructure strategy and signals continued investment in future capacity. BlackRock Leads $12 Billion Financing for New Meta Data Centers in Texas
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary around Meta’s expanding AI ambitions and “compute provider” strategy reinforces the bullish AI narrative, but the market is still waiting for proof that the spending will translate into durable returns. Meta’s AI Ambitions Keep Expanding. Is META Stock Keeping Up?
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta faces a Tennessee trial over claims Instagram was designed to be addictive, adding headline risk and potential legal overhang for the stock. Meta faces Tennessee trial over allegations Instagram was designed to be addictive
• Negative Sentiment: Reports of temporary Facebook and Instagram outages may add near-term frustration for users and advertisers, though the impact appears more operational than fundamental. Users of Meta’s Facebook, Instagram report suffering some outages

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.0%

NASDAQ:META opened at $645.85 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.63 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $604.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $626.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. The company had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The firm’s quarterly revenue 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. Equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.46 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

About Meta Platforms

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.