HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Acquires 10,307 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• HighPoint Advisor Group LLC boosted its Meta Platforms stake by 20.3% in the fourth quarter, adding 10,307 shares to bring its total to 61,057 shares valued at about $40.3 million.
• Meta’s latest earnings topped expectations, with EPS of $10.44 versus $6.67 expected and revenue of $56.31 billion, up 33.1% year over year.
• Despite strong results, the stock faces ongoing debate over heavy AI spending and some legal/regulatory scrutiny, even as analysts remain broadly constructive with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and $840.19 target.

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 20.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 61,057 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,307 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 1.9% of HighPoint Advisor Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $40,303,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth $26,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 36.8% during the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 78 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, Merrithew & Thorsten Inc acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.4%

Meta Platforms stock opened at $607.38 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.54 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25. The stock's fifty day moving average is $618.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $637.18.

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 for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.43 earnings per share. Meta Platforms's revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total value of $4,769,642.01. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 414 shares in the company, valued at $251,641.62. This represents a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were 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 owned 14,660 shares in the company, valued at $8,933,071. This represents a 5.40% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 152,728 shares of company stock worth $96,925,217 over the last three months. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Several bullish takes argue Meta is undervalued relative to its earnings power, with strong profitability, buybacks, and AI investments that could support long-term growth if the company’s spending translates into revenue. Meta Platforms: A Call Option On The AI Race
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s AI and product rollout efforts remain active, including expanded AI features in WhatsApp and renewed focus on smart glasses, which reinforce its long-term AI and AR strategy. Meta Platforms, Inc. (META) Expands AI Private Chats and Renewable Energy Deals
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts still see upside, with Wells Fargo only slightly trimming its target while maintaining an Overweight rating, suggesting Wall Street remains constructive on Meta’s AI infrastructure bet. Wells Fargo Trims Meta Platforms Price Target to $765
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta settled the first U.S. school-district lawsuit tied to social media addiction, reducing legal overhang for now, though broader litigation risk remains unresolved. Meta settles first US case over school costs tied to youth mental health
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he does not expect more companywide layoffs this year, which may calm employees but is unlikely to materially change the stock’s near-term outlook. Exclusive: Meta CEO tells employees he does not expect more company-wide layoffs this year
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta also continues to see insider sales and debate around layoffs, but those moves were largely tied to pre-arranged tax-withholding plans and are less likely to be a major market signal. Susan Li Sells 2,127 Shares of Meta Platforms
• Negative Sentiment: Meta’s biggest drag remains its aggressive AI spending, with 2026 capex guidance still extremely high and investors questioning whether layoffs will generate enough savings to offset that bill. Meta Platforms 10% Layoff Raises a Bigger Question About AI Spending
• Negative Sentiment: The company’s 10% workforce reduction and related restructuring have raised concerns about morale, execution risk, and whether management is cutting costs fast enough to support AI investments. Meta Begins Laying Off Thousands of Employees as It Transforms Around AI
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is also facing fresh regulatory and legal scrutiny, including EU complaints over handling financial scams and ongoing criticism tied to youth mental-health lawsuits. Google, Meta, TikTok face EU consumer complaints about handling of financial scams

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $725.00 price objective (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $850.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wedbush upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $908.00 to $865.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $840.19.

Meta Platforms 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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