AlphaStar Capital Management LLC Acquires 8,885 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• AlphaStar Capital Management increased its Meta Platforms stake by 66.7% in the fourth quarter, buying 8,885 additional shares and bringing its total to 22,205 shares worth about $14.7 million.
• Insider selling continued at Meta, with COO Javier Olivan and Director Robert M. Kimmitt both selling shares under pre-arranged trading plans; insiders have sold 169,231 shares worth more than $108 million over the past 90 days.
• Meta reported strong quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue estimates with EPS of $10.44 and revenue of $56.31 billion, while analysts still maintain a Moderate Buy consensus despite some recent price-target cuts.

AlphaStar Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 66.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 22,205 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,885 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 1.1% of AlphaStar Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $14,657,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of META. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 34.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 52,252 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $38,373,000 after buying an additional 13,311 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 133,798 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $88,319,000 after buying an additional 18,169 shares in the last quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,052 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $25,741,000 after buying an additional 1,657 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 84,059 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $55,487,000 after acquiring an additional 3,336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC now owns 6,933 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,091,000 after acquiring an additional 968 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 926 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $604.57, for a total transaction of $559,831.82. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 6,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,143,118.21. The trade was a 11.90% decrease in their position. 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. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $667.00, for a total transaction of $386,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,847 shares in the company, valued at $2,565,949. This represents a 13.10% 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 have sold 169,231 shares of company stock worth $108,239,954 over the last 90 days. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is expanding WhatsApp’s privacy tools with a new “incognito” mode for AI chats, which could help ease user concerns and support adoption of its AI features. Reuters article on WhatsApp incognito mode
• Positive Sentiment: The company also introduced more private messaging and sharing products, including an Instagram feature and additional AI privacy controls, which may help strengthen engagement and user trust over time. CNET article on Instagram Instants
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is reportedly preparing to monetize WhatsApp more aggressively through a premium subscription model, which could eventually add high-margin recurring revenue, but the financial impact is still speculative. Seeking Alpha article on WhatsApp Plus
• Negative Sentiment: Santa Clara County filed a lawsuit accusing Meta of profiting from scam ads on Facebook and Instagram, adding to concerns that the company may face restitution, damages, and stricter oversight of its ad systems. Business Wire article on Santa Clara County complaint
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported that Meta is challenging New Mexico’s proposed $3.7 billion remedy in the teen mental health trial, underscoring the scale of potential liabilities from social media-related lawsuits. Reuters article on New Mexico trial
• Negative Sentiment: Separate reports said Meta lost a court fight in Italy over paying publishers for news snippets, reinforcing that international regulation could create additional costs and legal pressure. Reuters article on Italian publishers ruling

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on META. UBS Group reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $908.00 to $865.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wolfe Research dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $775.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 30th. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $800.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Evercore raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $840.31.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META stock opened at $616.63 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. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $796.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $623.98 and a 200 day moving average of $641.75. The company has a market cap of $1.56 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.41, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.43 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.65 EPS for the current year.

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.

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