179,243 Shares in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Acquired by ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd

Key Points

• ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd disclosed a new fourth-quarter position in Meta Platforms, buying 179,243 shares worth about $118.3 million. Meta now makes up 2.5% of the fund’s portfolio and is its 15th-largest holding.
• Meta has seen continued institutional buying, with multiple hedge funds adding to or initiating positions, while institutions overall own 79.91% of the stock. At the same time, insiders have been selling shares, including recent transactions by COO Javier Olivan and CTO Andrew Bosworth.
• The company recently posted strong quarterly results, with EPS of $10.44 beating estimates and revenue rising 33.1% year over year to $56.31 billion. Investors are also watching new product and strategic moves, including a standalone “Forum” app and job cuts tied to a larger AI-focused restructuring.

ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 179,243 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $118,325,000. Meta Platforms makes up 2.5% of ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of META. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $20,230,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,537,000 after buying an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 294.7% during the first quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd now owns 150,000 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $86,454,000 after buying an additional 112,000 shares in the last quarter. Dymon Asia Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth $213,000. Finally, Capital & Planning LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at $322,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total transaction of $1,748,612.10. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 10,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,645,103.65. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 directly owned 414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $251,641.62. This trade represents a 94.99% 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 151,173 shares of company stock valued at $95,910,299. 13.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $610.26 on Monday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $617.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $636.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.54 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.18, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $796.25. 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 (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.43 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched a standalone “Forum” app for Facebook Groups, signaling a new product push that could deepen user engagement and add pressure to competitors like Reddit. Meta quietly launches a new Reddit-like app called Forum
• Positive Sentiment: Meta is cutting jobs and shifting resources toward AI, which investors may view as an efficiency move that supports long-term profit margins and keeps the company focused on its biggest growth area. Meta Cuts 8,000 Jobs, Boosts AI Team: What This Means for Employees
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta also settled a school-district lawsuit over alleged social media addiction harms, removing one legal overhang, though the broader regulatory and litigation risk around its platforms remains. Texas sues Meta, WhatsApp over encryption privacy claims
• Neutral Sentiment: Other headlines around Meta’s dual-class control structure, insider share sales, and broader AI spending debate are adding to the narrative, but they are less likely to drive the stock on their own than the new app launch and workforce reshaping.
• Negative Sentiment: The Texas attorney general’s lawsuit against Meta and WhatsApp over encryption and privacy claims adds another legal risk for investors to monitor. Google, Meta, TikTok face EU consumer complaints about handling of financial scams
• Negative Sentiment: Competition concerns are also in focus after Meta’s Forum app appeared to pressure Reddit shares, reinforcing worries that Meta’s scale lets it copy or crowd out rival social platforms.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on META. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Arete Research restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $808.00 to $890.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Wolfe Research dropped their price objective on shares of 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 decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $775.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $840.19.

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.

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