Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Buys 1,873 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Ashton Thomas Securities LLC increased its Meta Platforms stake by 13.9% in the fourth quarter, buying 1,873 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 15,330 shares worth about $10.13 million.
• Meta’s latest earnings beat expectations, with quarterly EPS of $10.44 versus the $6.67 consensus and revenue of $56.31 billion, up 33.1% from a year earlier.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on META, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $840.31, even as the stock traded around $603 and several insiders recently sold shares.

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 13.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,330 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,873 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 1.9% of Ashton Thomas Securities LLC's holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $10,132,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $132,015,115,000 after acquiring an additional 7,269,279 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.9% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $64,158,971,000 after acquiring an additional 1,650,435 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 39,247,690 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $28,823,375,000 after acquiring an additional 278,180 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,153,754 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $12,597,374,000 after purchasing an additional 142,229 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 4.1% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,332,168 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $10,525,258,000 after purchasing an additional 558,792 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms 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 value of $562,767.24. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 7,779 shares in the company, valued at $4,727,609.46. The trade was a 10.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $667.00, for a total value of $386,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,847 shares in the company, valued at $2,565,949. This represents a 13.10% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 167,676 shares of company stock worth $107,299,848 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on META. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $810.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $800.00 price objective (down from $880.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $930.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $840.31.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $603.00 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $796.25. The company has a market cap of $1.53 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.92, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35. The business's 50 day moving average price is $624.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $642.58.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS 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 last year, the business posted $6.43 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.65 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th were given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 7.63%.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: One bullish analysis argues Meta is attractively priced for a recession scenario, citing 33% year-over-year revenue growth, strong operating margins, and the potential for long-term margin expansion as AI investments drive efficiency. Why Meta Is My Top Pick: Priced For A Recession With Massive Upside
• Positive Sentiment: Meta is testing deeper AI integration in Threads, which could improve engagement and strengthen its product ecosystem over time. Threads tests a Meta AI integration that works similarly to Grok
• Positive Sentiment: Meta offered rival AI chatbots temporary free access to WhatsApp as part of talks with EU antitrust regulators, suggesting the company is actively trying to reduce regulatory friction in Europe. Meta offers rival AI chatbots free access to WhatsApp month
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles discuss Meta’s role in the broader attention economy and compare its platform model with earlier media strategies, but these are not immediate stock catalysts. Ted Turner built the original infinite scroll
• Negative Sentiment: Santa Clara County filed a lawsuit accusing Meta of profiting from scam ads on Facebook and Instagram, adding to concerns about ad quality, moderation, and legal exposure. California county sues Meta over scam ads
• Negative Sentiment: Meta also lost a court fight in Europe over compensation for Italian publishers, reinforcing ongoing regulatory and content-rights risks. Meta loses court fight over compensation to Italian publishers
• Negative Sentiment: Fresh reports and lawsuits alleging scam ads targeting seniors, along with investigations into Meta’s board oversight and privacy/AI practices, could keep sentiment under pressure if they broaden. Meta Faces Fresh Controversy Over Facebook Scam Ads

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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