CDM Financial Counseling Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,021 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $674,000.
A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $132,015,115,000 after buying an additional 7,269,279 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $64,158,971,000 after buying an additional 1,650,435 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 39,247,690 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $28,823,375,000 after buying an additional 278,180 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,153,754 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $12,597,374,000 after buying an additional 142,229 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,332,168 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $10,525,258,000 after buying an additional 558,792 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
META has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Pivotal Research reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $930.00 to $910.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $908.00 to $865.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $850.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Four 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $840.19.
Read Our Latest Analysis on Meta Platforms
Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.3%
Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $612.34 on Wednesday. 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 fifty day moving average of $617.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $636.70. The stock has a market cap of $1.55 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.26, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $520.26 and a 52-week high of $796.25.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. The company had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.43 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.49 earnings per share for the current year.
Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms
In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 414 shares in the company, valued at $251,641.62. This represents a 94.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total value of $5,589,088.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,014,978.24. The trade was a 41.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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. Insiders sold a total of 95,471 shares of company stock worth $60,616,955 in the last three months. 13.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms
Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Investors are viewing Meta’s massive AI spending more favorably as analysts and market commentators argue the AI boom could last longer than expected, potentially strengthening the company’s competitive position. Article Title
- Positive Sentiment: Several recent pieces continue to frame Meta as a top long-term growth stock and a stock drawing increased investor attention, which can help reinforce bullish sentiment around the name. Article Title
- Neutral Sentiment: Meta is making a major workforce reduction in Washington state as part of a broader AI-driven restructuring, which may improve efficiency over time but also signals a significant internal reset. Article Title
- Neutral Sentiment: The company is also getting additional investor and public scrutiny around AI, jobs, and capital allocation, with commentary suggesting the market is still debating whether Meta’s heavy AI investment will pay off. Article Title
- Neutral Sentiment: JLens is urging shareholders to back a proposal demanding more transparency on content moderation, highlighting ongoing governance and brand-safety concerns ahead of the annual meeting. Article Title
- Negative Sentiment: The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Meta’s challenge to Vermont’s social media addiction lawsuit, keeping legal exposure alive in a case centered on alleged harms to young users. Article Title
- Negative Sentiment: Meta also faces a new lawsuit from Santa Clara County over allegedly scam-related AI ads, adding another regulatory and reputational overhang tied to ad practices and user safety. Article Title
Meta Platforms Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
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