Hobart Private Capital LLC Buys 1,068 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Hobart Private Capital LLC increased its stake in Meta by 28.5% in Q4, acquiring 1,068 shares to hold 4,812 shares worth about $3.18 million; institutional investors now own 79.91% of META while insiders sold roughly 165,600 shares (~$106 million) last quarter.
• Meta beat recent quarterly estimates (EPS $8.88 vs. $8.16; revenue $59.89B vs. $58.33B) and carries a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average analyst price target of $837.09.

Hobart Private Capital LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 28.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,812 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,068 shares during the period. Hobart Private Capital LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,176,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goldstone Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 44.4% in the third quarter. Goldstone Financial Group LLC now owns 3,752 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $2,756,000 after purchasing an additional 1,153 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 34.2% in the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 52,252 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $38,373,000 after purchasing an additional 13,311 shares in the last quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.0% in the third quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,052 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $25,741,000 after purchasing an additional 1,657 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 84,059 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $55,487,000 after purchasing an additional 3,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 16.2% in the third quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC now owns 6,933 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,091,000 after purchasing an additional 968 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the subject of several recent research reports. Argus reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $800.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $730.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $850.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $837.09.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META stock opened at $678.62 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 2.60. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $796.25. The stock has a market cap of $1.72 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $629.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $648.75.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $8.16 by $0.72. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The business had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $58.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $8.02 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total value of $36,471,323.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $631.24, for a total transaction of $5,106,100.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 2,841 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,793,352.84. This represents a 74.01% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 165,600 shares of company stock valued at $106,023,973 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI-driven ad thesis and upbeat Q1 outlook — analysts and bullish commentators say Meta’s ad revenue is being re-accelerated by AI improvements, and some expect another beat-and-raise around the April 29 results, supporting upside for shares. Meta Q1: AI Ad Thesis Getting Stronger
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic infrastructure partnerships — Meta signed a pact with Overview Energy for space-based solar to power data centers (longer-term operational/energy advantage) and a multi-year partnership with CBRE to train fiber technicians, both reinforcing infrastructure and cost/scale plans. Meta partners with space startup Overview Energy to secure solar power for data centers Meta Platforms (META) Partners With CBRE to Train Fiber Technicians
• Positive Sentiment: Commercial AI partnerships with cloud providers — broader coverage of AI partnerships (including reports that AWS and others are working with AI players) underscores demand for Meta’s AI-driven products and ad monetization potential. Amazon Is About to Report Q1 Earnings. Do Options Traders Expect a Major Move in AMZN Stock?
• Neutral Sentiment: Big Tech earnings theme — the upcoming Magnificent Seven reports (including Meta) are being framed around AI monetization and cloud demand; this macro narrative can lift or pressure META depending on actual ad/cloud signals. Big Tech faces key earnings test on AI spending and cloud growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional interest — Meta appears on several “top buy” lists and remains heavily held by hedge funds, which supports liquidity but can increase volatility around earnings. 5 Best Big Name Stocks to Buy
• Negative Sentiment: China blocks Manus acquisition — Beijing ordered Meta to unwind its ~$2B purchase of Manus, a setback for Meta’s agentic-AI capability buildout and a reminder of geopolitical risk in cross-border AI deals; this is the biggest immediate negative catalyst. China vetoes Meta's $2B Manus deal after months-long probe
• Negative Sentiment: Options/volatility and margin concerns — some observers warn that heavy bullish options positioning and rising AI-related spending (Reality Labs and infra/CapEx) leave META exposed to a post-earnings volatility collapse or margin-pressure-driven pullback. Meta's Stock May Plunge Following Results Buy, Sell or Hold Meta Platforms Stock? Key Tips Ahead of Q1 Earnings

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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