Aurora Private Wealth Inc. Buys New Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Aurora Private Wealth opened a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter, buying 5,502 shares valued at about $3.63 million. Meta now ranks as the firm’s 7th-largest holding and makes up roughly 2.4% of its portfolio.
• Meta reported strong first-quarter results, posting $10.44 EPS versus the $6.67 consensus estimate and revenue of $56.31 billion, up 33.1% year over year. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share.
• Analysts remain broadly constructive on META, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of about $840.31. However, the stock faces some headwinds from ongoing regulatory and legal issues, including lawsuits over scam ads and European publisher compensation disputes.

Aurora Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,502 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $3,632,000. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 2.4% of Aurora Private Wealth Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in META. Westchester Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth $26,000. Key Capital Management INC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 36.8% in the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 78 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Dorato Capital Management bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $62,000. Finally, PMV Capital Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 26.3% in the fourth quarter. PMV Capital Advisers LLC now owns 96 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Roth Mkm reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $760.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $910.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock 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 assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $840.31.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.7%

Meta Platforms stock opened at $603.00 on Wednesday. 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 one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $796.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.53 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.25. The business's fifty day moving average is $624.72 and its 200 day moving average is $642.58.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 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 company had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.56 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.43 earnings per share. Meta Platforms's revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.65 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $667.00, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 13.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 926 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.74, for a total value of $562,767.24. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 7,779 shares in the company, valued at $4,727,609.46. This trade represents a 10.64% 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. Insiders have sold 167,676 shares of company stock worth $107,299,848 over the last ninety days. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by 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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