Intact Investment Management Inc. Cuts Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Intact Investment Management reduced its Meta Platforms stake by 8.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 2,400 shares and ending with 26,000 shares worth about $17.16 million.
• Other institutional investors were mixed, but 79.91% of Meta’s stock is still owned by hedge funds and other institutions, showing continued heavy institutional interest.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive on Meta, with analysts assigning an average “Moderate Buy” rating and a consensus price target of about $840.31, while the company also reported stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue growth.

Intact Investment Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 26,000 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 2,400 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $17,162,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pachira Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 53.1% during the fourth quarter. Pachira Investments Inc. now owns 833 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $550,000 after buying an additional 289 shares during the period. WJ Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. WJ Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,263 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $834,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Summit Wealth & Retirement Planning Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 29.4% during the fourth quarter. Summit Wealth & Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 863 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $570,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the period. Core Alternative Capital increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 40.2% during the fourth quarter. Core Alternative Capital now owns 3,617 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $2,388,000 after buying an additional 1,038 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaStar Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 66.7% during the fourth quarter. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC now owns 22,205 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $14,657,000 after buying an additional 8,885 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on META. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Citizens Jmp restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $900.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Argus restated a "buy" rating and set a $800.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Arete Research restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $910.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $840.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $631.24, for a total value of $5,106,100.36. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 169,231 shares of company stock worth $108,239,954 over the last three months. Insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is expanding WhatsApp’s privacy tools with a new “incognito” mode for AI chats, which could help ease user concerns and support adoption of its AI features. Reuters article on WhatsApp incognito mode
• Positive Sentiment: The company also introduced more private messaging and sharing products, including an Instagram feature and additional AI privacy controls, which may help strengthen engagement and user trust over time. CNET article on Instagram Instants
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is reportedly preparing to monetize WhatsApp more aggressively through a premium subscription model, which could eventually add high-margin recurring revenue, but the financial impact is still speculative. Seeking Alpha article on WhatsApp Plus
• Negative Sentiment: Santa Clara County filed a lawsuit accusing Meta of profiting from scam ads on Facebook and Instagram, adding to concerns that the company may face restitution, damages, and stricter oversight of its ad systems. Business Wire article on Santa Clara County complaint
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported that Meta is challenging New Mexico’s proposed $3.7 billion remedy in the teen mental health trial, underscoring the scale of potential liabilities from social media-related lawsuits. Reuters article on New Mexico trial
• Negative Sentiment: Separate reports said Meta lost a court fight in Italy over paying publishers for news snippets, reinforcing that international regulation could create additional costs and legal pressure. Reuters article on Italian publishers ruling

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $616.63 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.56 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 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. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm's 50 day moving average is $623.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $641.75.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. The company had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The firm's revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.43 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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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