Davidson Investment Advisors Has $53.03 Million Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Davidson Investment Advisors doubled its stake in Meta in Q4, buying an additional 40,344 shares to hold 80,341 shares worth $53.03 million, about 2.2% of its portfolio and its 8th-largest position.
• Meta beat Q1 expectations with $10.44 EPS (vs. $6.67 est.) and $56.31 billion in revenue (up 33.1% YoY), but the company raised FY capital‑expenditure guidance for AI/data‑center investment and reported continued heavy losses in Reality Labs.
• Insiders have been net sellers recently, disposing of 167,155 shares valued at about $107.07 million in the last three months, though insiders still own 13.61% of the company.

Davidson Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 100.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 80,341 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 40,344 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 2.2% of Davidson Investment Advisors' investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Davidson Investment Advisors' holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $53,033,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 64.8% during the 3rd quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. PMV Capital Advisers LLC lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth about $71,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $669.12 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.69 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.47, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a current ratio of 2.60. The company's 50 day moving average price is $630.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $648.65. 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. The company had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.36 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The company's revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.43 EPS. Research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $805.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Roth Mkm decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 26th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $808.00 to $890.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $872.00 to $908.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $837.09.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Strong monetization and product moves — Meta continues to monetize AI-driven ad demand and reported robust Q1 results that beat revenue/earnings expectations, supporting the company's growth narrative. Earnings/Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: New revenue/creator options — Meta launched a pilot to pay eligible creators in USDC stablecoins (Colombia, Philippines), which could lower payout friction and open new monetization paths in developing markets. Meta Pays Creators In Stablecoins
• Positive Sentiment: Energy/infra partnerships to support AI data centers — Meta announced collaborations (space-based solar, long-duration storage) intended to lock in continuous power for AI workloads, a strategic move to reduce energy risk and support long-term AI capacity. Meta Bets on Space-Based Solar
• Neutral Sentiment: Management disclosures and housekeeping — Meta filed its Q1 results, slide deck and conference materials; COO Javier Oliván executed a planned Rule 10b5-1 sale (disclosed). These are routine but noted by traders. SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Big increase in capital spending — Meta raised FY capital-expenditure guidance substantially (now targeting far larger AI/data-center investment), a near-term cash and free‑cash‑flow headwind that spooked investors. CapEx Forecast Increase
• Negative Sentiment: Reality Labs losses persist — Reality Labs recorded a multibillion-dollar operating loss in Q1 (reported >$4B), reinforcing concerns about long-standing cash burn in AR/VR. Reality Labs Loss
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and legal risks in Europe — EU regulators charged Meta with failing to keep under‑13s off Facebook/Instagram under the Digital Services Act and warned of potential fines; the company also flagged legal scrutiny in its communications. EU Charges
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction to guidance and user growth — Despite strong top-line beats, investors focused on higher spending, mixed user-growth signals and slightly cautious guidance, which led to a pullback in shares after the print. Market Reaction / WSJ

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $667.00, for a total transaction of $386,860.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 629 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $670.84, for a total value of $421,958.36. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 2,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,591,232.48. This represents a 20.96% 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 167,155 shares of company stock valued at $107,067,129. Insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Company 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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