CFO Capital Management LLC Takes $1.57 Million Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• CFO Capital Management LLC opened a new position in Meta Platforms, buying 2,377 shares valued at about $1.57 million. The stake now makes up 1.2% of the firm’s portfolio.
• Meta continues to attract heavy institutional ownership, with major holders like Vanguard, State Street, and Geode all increasing their stakes in the latest quarter. Overall, about 79.91% of Meta’s stock is owned by institutional investors.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but generally constructive, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $840.60. Recent commentary highlights Meta’s AI investments and new infrastructure deals, though some concerns remain over executive departures and regulatory risk.

CFO Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,377 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $1,569,000. Meta Platforms comprises 1.2% of CFO Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in META. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 3.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 7,269,279 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in Meta Platforms by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 90,841,345 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $59,963,463,000 after buying an additional 4,395,763 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 52,806,712 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $34,734,628,000 after acquiring an additional 878,396 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 39,558,637 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $26,112,735,000 after buying an additional 310,947 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 37,553,102 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $24,788,429,000 after acquiring an additional 823,883 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $750.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $725.00 price objective (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial upgraded Meta Platforms from an "underperform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $840.60.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street commentary remains constructive on Meta’s long-term AI strategy, with Evercore ISI’s Mark Mahaney naming META one of the best “Magnificent 7” stock buys, reinforcing the view that the stock may still offer upside after its recent pullback. Article: Famous Wall Street Tech Analyst Names Meta and Amazon the Best Magnificent 7 Stock Buys Today
• Positive Sentiment: Meta continues to expand its AI infrastructure, including new computing deals with Crusoe and a strategic data-center partnership in India, which supports the company’s long-term AI capacity and monetization plans. Article: Meta signs new AI computing deals with data center firm Crusoe
• Positive Sentiment: Meta also drew favorable attention for rolling out new AI features for Facebook creators and broader AI tools that could deepen engagement and create new ad products over time. Article: Meta Platforms Rolls Out New AI Features On Facebook For Content Creators
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta continues to get attention for its cloud-computing ambitions, but that move is still viewed as a longer-term optionality story rather than an immediate earnings driver. Article: Meta and Cloud Computing: Real Potential, or a Shot in the Dark?
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta’s strong last reported quarter and upcoming dividend remain supportive, but these are already well known and are not the main catalysts behind today’s trading. Article: META stock and company profile
• Negative Sentiment: Sentiment was hurt by reports that a senior AI executive is leaving Meta during a major AI transition, raising execution concerns at a time when the company is trying to accelerate its artificial intelligence roadmap. Article: Meta head of product for 'AI for work' transformation is leaving company
• Negative Sentiment: Meta was also hit by reports that attackers exploited its AI-powered support chatbot to take over high-profile Instagram accounts, adding security and trust concerns around its AI tools and platform controls. Article: Meta faces AI support breach as key internal AI executive exits
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is also facing regulatory and legal pressure, including a Washington high court decision upholding a $35 million campaign finance penalty, which adds to headline risk. Article: Washington high court upholds $35 million campaign finance penalty against Meta

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $577.22 on Friday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $621.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $634.15. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $796.25. The company has a market cap of $1.46 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.98, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. The business had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.43 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.63%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total transaction 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 $8,014,978.24. The trade was a 41.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total transaction of $4,769,642.01. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 414 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $251,641.62. The trade was a 94.99% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 40,568 shares of company stock valued at $25,057,365. 13.53% of the stock is owned by company 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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