Alta Capital Management LLC Sells 3,680 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Alta Capital Management LLC reduced its Meta Platforms stake by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 3,680 shares and ending with 81,533 shares worth about $53.8 million.
• Meta continues to draw strong institutional interest overall, with hedge funds and other large investors owning 79.91% of the stock despite some portfolio adjustments.
• Recent business updates were mostly positive: Meta launched new subscription plans across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and AI products, while its core ad business remains strong even as the company faces ongoing legal scrutiny.

Alta Capital Management LLC lessened its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 81,533 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 3,680 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up 3.6% of Alta Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Alta Capital Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $53,820,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. First National Bank Sioux Falls increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 2,001 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,321,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 984 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $649,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $794,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 539 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arcataur Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Arcataur Capital Management LLC now owns 1,736 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,146,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched subscription plans for Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and AI users, opening a new recurring-revenue stream and giving investors a clearer path beyond ads. Meta launches Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp subscriptions, with more to come, including AI plans
• Positive Sentiment: Meta is also testing paid AI subscription tiers, signaling another monetization lever for its fast-growing AI products. Meta to start testing AI subscription services, with cheapest plan at $7.99 a month
• Positive Sentiment: CEO Mark Zuckerberg said a Meta cloud computing business is “definitely on the table” if the company ends up with excess data-center capacity, hinting at a possible long-term expansion into a large enterprise market. Mark Zuckerberg says a Meta cloud computing business 'definitely on the table'
• Positive Sentiment: Reports said Meta’s ad business remains strong, with AI features improving engagement and pricing power, reinforcing the company’s core earnings engine. META Rides on Solid Momentum in Ad Business: A Sign of More Upside?
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually heavy call-option buying suggests traders are positioning for more upside, but it does not by itself change fundamentals.
• Negative Sentiment: The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Meta’s appeal in a Vermont social-media addiction case, allowing a legal challenge over teen safety and app design to proceed. US Supreme Court won't hear Meta's challenge to Vermont social media addiction lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: Meta also faces fresh scrutiny from a Santa Clara County lawsuit alleging it profited from scam ads, adding to regulatory and legal overhangs. Santa Clara Lawsuit Tests Meta’s AI Ad Model And Governance Balance

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $635.26 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $796.25. The company has a 50-day moving average of $617.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $636.82. The stock has a market cap of $1.61 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.09, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.25. 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, topping the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The company had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.56 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.43 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the subject of several research reports. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $835.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $840.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $840.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total value of $1,748,612.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 10,557 shares in the company, valued at $6,645,103.65. This trade represents a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total transaction of $36,471,323.70. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 95,471 shares of company stock worth $60,616,955 over the last ninety days. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

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