Allworth Financial LP Buys 5,630 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Allworth Financial LP increased its Meta Platforms stake by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, buying 5,630 more shares and bringing its total holding to 92,318 shares worth about $60.9 million.
• Meta’s stock was trading around $610.26, giving the company a market cap of $1.54 trillion, while its latest earnings beat expectations with $10.44 EPS on $56.31 billion in revenue.
• Analysts remain generally bullish on META, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $840.19, even as insiders recently sold shares and legal/regulatory risks remain in focus.

Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 92,318 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 5,630 shares during the quarter. Allworth Financial LP's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $60,938,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Westchester Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Key Capital Management INC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 36.8% during the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 78 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merrithew & Thorsten Inc purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $52,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.5%

Meta Platforms stock opened at $610.26 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.54 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.18, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $617.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $637.00. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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 during 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 business's revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.43 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Trending Headlines about 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 brokerages recently weighed in on META. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $900.00 price target on Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, January 26th. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $760.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Citizens Jmp reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $900.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $910.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Four investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $840.19.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total value of $4,769,642.01. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 414 shares of the company's stock, valued at $251,641.62. The trade was a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 Meta Platforms 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at $8,014,978.24. This represents a 41.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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 152,728 shares of company stock valued at $96,925,217 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

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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