Greystone Financial Group LLC Acquires 6,444 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Greystone Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Meta by 152.1%6,444 shares to hold 10,680 shares worth about $7.05 million at quarter-end.
• Meta reported a strong quarter—beating revenue (~$56.3B) and EPS (reported $10.44 vs. $6.67 expected)—with accelerating ad demand and early AI monetization (Business AI handling ~10 million conversations/week) supporting growth prospects.
• Investors are wary after Meta sharply raised 2026 capex guidance to roughly $125–$145B and is reportedly exploring a $20–$25B bond sale, fueling concerns about near-term free cash flow, higher leverage and a sell-off in the stock.

Greystone Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 152.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,680 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 6,444 shares during the quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $7,050,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Key Capital Management INC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. Dorato Capital Management bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $62,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 26.3% in the 4th quarter. PMV Capital Advisers LLC now owns 96 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Evergreen Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 64.8% in the 3rd quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Strong earnings & ad momentum — Meta beat Q1 revenue and EPS expectations (revenue ~$56.3B; EPS well above consensus), showing robust ad demand and early AI monetization that supports long-term revenue growth. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: AI product traction — Meta says its Business AI now handles ~10 million conversations per week, evidence that AI features are being adopted and could drive new ad/enterprise revenue streams. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: New monetization moves — Pilot to pay creators in USDC and partnerships to secure energy for data centers signal diversification of payments and longer-term infrastructure planning. Read More. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider selling disclosed — COO Javier Oliván sold shares under a pre-arranged 10b5-1 plan; typical disclosure but watched by investors for signal. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Massive capex raise — Meta raised 2026 capital expenditure guidance sharply (now ~$125B–$145B), triggering concerns about near-term free cash flow, funding needs and the payback timeline on multiyear AI infrastructure spending. Investors pitched the stock down on this news. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction vs peers — Investors rewarded Alphabet’s AI strategy but punished Meta for the scale and funding model of its AI spend (no cloud cushion), widening the gap in market confidence. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Funding & financing signals — Reports that Meta is exploring a $20–$25B investment-grade bond sale to fund AI expansion add to investor worry about higher leverage and dilution of near-term cash returns. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Cost cuts + job risk — Management told staff that layoffs are tied to capex priorities and did not rule out further cuts, underscoring reallocation toward AI at the expense of labor and short-term execution risk. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/legal exposure — EU Digital Services Act charges over under‑13 users and a New Mexico AG standoff on age verification raise the possibility of fines, restrictions or costly compliance measures. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Loss-making bets & M&A headwinds — Reality Labs reported another multi‑billion operating loss and Meta faces pushback/unwinding of deals (Manus acquisition), highlighting high-cost bets with uncertain returns. Read More. Read More.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 629 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $670.84, for a total value of $421,958.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 2,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,591,232.48. The trade was a 20.96% decrease in their position. 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 value of $386,860.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,847 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders sold 167,155 shares of company stock worth $107,067,129 in the last 90 days. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $611.91 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $796.25. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $629.62 and a 200 day moving average of $648.40. 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 has a market capitalization of $1.55 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.24, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.31.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 38.83%. The business had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.43 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.83 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $885.00 to $820.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Evercore lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Roth Mkm reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $841.26.

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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