GenTrust LLC Purchases 1,107 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• GenTrust LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 125.2% in the fourth quarter, buying 1,107 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 1,991 shares valued at about $1.314 million.
• Meta faced fresh legal and governance pressure, including a California county lawsuit over alleged scam ads on Facebook and Instagram and a separate board investigation tied to privacy oversight and AI training practices.
• Despite recent volatility, Meta reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $10.44 and revenue of $56.31 billion both topping estimates; analysts still have a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $840.31.

GenTrust LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 125.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,991 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,107 shares during the period. GenTrust LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,314,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.8% during 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $64,158,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,650,435 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 39,247,690 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $28,823,375,000 after acquiring an additional 278,180 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,153,754 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $12,597,374,000 after acquiring an additional 142,229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,332,168 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $10,525,258,000 after acquiring an additional 558,792 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Negative Sentiment: Santa Clara County sued Meta, alleging the company earned money from scam advertisements on Facebook and Instagram and violated California false advertising and unfair business practices laws. California county sues Meta over scam ads
• Negative Sentiment: Another report highlighted the same lawsuit, framing it as a claim that Meta earned billions from scam Facebook ads, reinforcing investor worries about reputational damage and possible legal costs. Meta accused of earning billions from scam Facebook ads in new California lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: A plaintiffs’ law firm also announced an investigation into Meta’s board over possible breaches of fiduciary duty tied to privacy oversight and AI training practices, which could keep governance concerns in focus. Berger Montague PC Investigates Meta Platforms, Inc.'s Board of Directors for Breach of Fiduciary Duty (META)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary remained constructive overall, with coverage noting that Wall Street still sees upside in Meta despite recent post-earnings volatility, which may help limit downside. Meta Platforms’ Wild Post-Earnings Swings: Where Analyst Price Targets Stand Now

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $598.86 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $625.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $643.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35. The company has a market capitalization of $1.51 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.25. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.43 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $750.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Roth Mkm restated a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $840.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $765.00 to $770.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Citizens Jmp restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $900.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $840.31.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,847 shares in the company, valued at $2,565,949. This trade represents a 13.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 926 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.74, for a total transaction of $562,767.24. Following the sale, the chief operating officer 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 167,676 shares of company stock valued at $107,299,848 over the last 90 days. Company 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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