CX Institutional Increases Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• CX Institutional increased its Meta Platforms stake by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, buying 2,094 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 36,690 shares worth about $24.2 million.
• Meta reported strong quarterly results, posting $10.44 EPS versus the $6.67 consensus estimate and revenue of $56.31 billion, up 33.1% year over year.
• Analysts remain largely bullish on META, with an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $840.31, even as some firms trimmed their targets slightly.

CX Institutional lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 36,690 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,094 shares during the period. CX Institutional's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $24,218,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Key Capital Management INC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 36.8% during the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 78 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 64.8% during the third quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PMV Capital Advisers LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 26.3% during the fourth quarter. PMV Capital Advisers LLC now owns 96 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.7%

NASDAQ:META opened at $603.00 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.53 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.92, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $796.25. The company's fifty day moving average price is $624.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $642.58. 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 (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The firm's revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.43 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.65 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on META. Wolfe Research decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $760.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $775.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $885.00 to $820.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $840.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, 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 transaction of $562,767.24. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 7,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,727,609.46. This trade represents a 10.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $667.00, for a total transaction of $386,860.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,565,949. The trade was a 13.10% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 167,676 shares of company stock worth $107,299,848. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

More 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 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.