Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Sells 5,838 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC reduced its Meta stake by 11.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 5,838 shares and leaving it with 46,414 shares valued at about $30.6 million.
• Meta shares were trading down 1.2% at $609.63, while the company’s market cap stood at $1.54 trillion and its stock remained below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Meta’s latest earnings beat expectations, with EPS of $10.44 versus $6.67 expected and revenue of $56.31 billion, up 33.1% year over year; analysts still rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $840.31.

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 11.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 46,414 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 5,838 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 0.7% of Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC's holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $30,638,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of META. Alpine Bank Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management now owns 4,301 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $3,159,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 454 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. grew its stake 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 worth $794,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 402 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Macroview Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 465 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $341,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $609.63 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $627.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $645.30. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $796.25. The company has a market capitalization of $1.54 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.16, a P/E/G 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 quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The business had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.43 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.67 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 926 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.74, for a total transaction of $562,767.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 7,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,727,609.46. This trade represents a 10.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $667.00, for a total value of $386,860.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,847 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,565,949. This represents a 13.10% decrease in their position. 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 168,193 shares of company stock valued at $107,642,717 in the last three months. Insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. 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. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $900.00 price objective on Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, January 26th. Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $910.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $840.31.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts remain bullish on Meta Platforms, with recent notes from firms like BofA and Erste Group lifting earnings estimates or price targets after strong Q1 results, reinforcing expectations for meaningful upside. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s AI push is drawing attention as the company reportedly works on AI agents and improved models like Muse Spark, which could support new products and future monetization opportunities. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary pieces continue to frame Meta as an important AI and large-cap tech name, but these are mostly opinion-driven and do not add new fundamental information for the stock. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta was also mentioned in a deal roundup about acquiring Assured Robot Intelligence, but the report provided little detail, so the market impact is unclear. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Reports highlighting employee dissatisfaction and impending layoffs suggest Meta’s AI transformation is creating internal friction, while also reminding investors that the company’s AI ambitions come with higher costs. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concern remains centered on Meta’s enormous 2026 capex plan, estimated at $125 billion to $145 billion, which is fueling fears that profitability could come under pressure before AI investments pay off. Article Title

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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