Dougherty & Associates LLC Purchases New Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Dougherty & Associates LLC initiated a new position in Meta Platforms, buying 3,150 shares worth about $2.08 million in the fourth quarter. The stake now represents 1.9% of the firm’s portfolio.
• Meta reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $10.44 versus the $6.67 estimate and revenue of $56.31 billion, up 33.1% year over year. Analysts still expect the company to post 29.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• The stock continues to draw attention from both investors and regulators: analysts remain broadly bullish with a Moderate Buy consensus and $840.19 average price target, while Meta also faces ongoing scrutiny over AI spending, content moderation, and legal challenges.

Dougherty & Associates LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,150 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $2,080,000. Meta Platforms makes up 1.9% of Dougherty & Associates LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. High Note Wealth LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. High Note Wealth LLC now owns 5,158 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $3,405,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 171,409 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $113,145,000 after acquiring an additional 1,438 shares in the last quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 174.1% during the fourth quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC now owns 2,165 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,429,000 after acquiring an additional 1,375 shares in the last quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,851,000. Finally, North Dakota State Investment Board purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,437,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.3%

Meta Platforms stock opened at $612.34 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.55 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $796.25. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $617.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $636.70. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. The business 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 business's revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.43 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Key Headlines 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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on META shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $750.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $765.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Arete Research reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $840.19.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total value of $5,589,088.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at 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, COO Javier Olivan sold 837 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.35, for a total value of $510,025.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 14,660 shares in the company, valued at $8,933,071. This represents a 5.40% 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. Insiders sold 95,471 shares of company stock worth $60,616,955 over the last three months. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Meta Platforms

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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