Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC Purchases 1,515 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC increased its Meta stake by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, buying 1,515 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 23,390 shares worth about $15.44 million.
• Analysts remain mostly bullish on Meta, with the stock carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $840.31, even as some firms trimmed targets slightly.
• Meta is making major AI-related moves, including roughly 8,000 layoffs tied to its AI-first transformation, which has raised concerns about restructuring costs and near-term margin pressure.

Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,390 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 1,515 shares during the period. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $15,439,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 36.8% during the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 78 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merrithew & Thorsten Inc acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $52,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $810.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Mizuho cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $835.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $730.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $840.31.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Negative Sentiment: Meta began laying off about 8,000 employees, or roughly 10% of its workforce, as part of a broader AI-first transformation. The move highlights rising restructuring costs and suggests more cuts could follow later this year. Meta Begins Laying Off 8,000 Employees Amid A.I. Transformation
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Meta is cutting jobs while ramping up AI investment have kept attention on margin pressure and the scale of the company’s AI spending bill, which some investors view as a near-term drag on earnings. Meta Moves 7,000 Workers Into AI Roles Ahead of Job Cuts
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta offered rival AI chatbot makers limited free access to WhatsApp in Europe before charging once usage limits are reached. The move could support platform engagement and developer adoption, but the financial impact is still unclear. Exclusive: Meta offers AI rival chatbots limited free WhatsApp access, sources say
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta also drew attention for new AI-related product and safety initiatives, including an incognito chat feature for WhatsApp’s AI assistant and new parental supervision tools, but these are not likely to move the stock in the near term. Meta Platforms (META) Launching Incognito Chat for WhatsApp AI Assistant

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total value of $4,769,642.01. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $251,641.62. This represents a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total value of $36,471,323.70. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 171,517 shares of company stock worth $109,138,067. Insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META stock opened at $602.61 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.52 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The business has a 50 day moving average of $620.35 and a 200-day moving average of $637.91. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted 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 business 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 earnings per share. Meta Platforms's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.65 earnings per share for the current year.

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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