Geneva Partners LLC Reduces Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Geneva Partners LLC cut its Meta stake by 35% in the first quarter, selling 6,304 shares and leaving it with 11,696 shares valued at about $6.69 million. Meta still ranked as the fund’s 13th-largest holding.
• Wall Street remains broadly bullish on META, with an average “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $838.26. Recent firm updates included both higher and slightly lower targets, but the overall analyst stance stayed positive.
• Meta’s latest results and strategic moves were strong, including first-quarter EPS of $10.44 versus $6.67 expected and revenue growth of 33.1% year over year. The company is also drawing attention for its AI push, though that is balanced by regulatory scrutiny in the EU and concerns about heavy AI spending.

Geneva Partners LLC lessened its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 35.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,696 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 6,304 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 3.2% of Geneva Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Geneva Partners LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $6,691,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. RHL Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Bayban increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Bayban now owns 70 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on META. Wolfe Research dropped 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. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Benchmark started coverage on Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set a "buy" rating for the company. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and set a $760.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $885.00 to $820.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 20th. 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $838.26.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s latest AI push is drawing bullish attention, including the launch of Muse Spark 1.1, expanded developer access through its Model API, and reports that the company plans to start producing an in-house AI chip in September. Investors are betting these moves could lower compute costs, reduce reliance on Nvidia and AMD, and open new revenue streams beyond advertising. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Meta is also benefiting from optimism around its cloud and AI infrastructure ambitions, including a new C$13 billion data center in Alberta and commentary that the company may be building a stronger long-term “AI revenue stack” than the market currently prices in. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts and commentators are still constructive on META, with bullish notes saying the stock looks attractively valued relative to its AI growth potential and that recent weakness created an opportunity for long-term investors. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Citizens JMP trimmed its price target to $800 from $825 while maintaining an outperform rating, suggesting continued upside but a slightly more cautious near-term view on valuation and spending. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Meta faces renewed regulatory risk after the European Union said Facebook and Instagram may violate the Digital Services Act with “addictive” design features such as infinite scroll, autoplay, and push notifications, potentially exposing the company to fines and product changes. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Separate reporting also highlighted investor concern that Meta’s aggressive AI capex could pressure margins if monetization takes longer than expected, even though the market is currently rewarding the strategy. Article Title

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total transaction of $4,769,642.01. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 414 shares of the company's stock, valued at $251,641.62. This trade represents a 94.99% 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. 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 firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total transaction of $5,589,088.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,014,978.24. The trade was a 41.08% decrease in their position. 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 quarter, insiders sold 40,083 shares of company stock valued at $24,628,719. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $669.21 on Monday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $598.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $626.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month high of $796.25. The stock has a market cap of $1.69 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.33, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The business had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.43 earnings per share. Meta Platforms's revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.46 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th 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, June 15th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 7.63%.

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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