Investment House LLC Purchases 1,328 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Investment House LLC increased its Meta Platforms stake by 1,328 shares in the fourth quarter, bringing its total holdings to 160,951 shares worth about $106.2 million. Meta now represents roughly 5% of the fund’s portfolio and is its third-largest position.
• Several other hedge funds also raised their Meta positions, and institutional investors now own about 79.91% of the stock. That suggests continued broad support from large investors despite recent trading activity.
• Analysts remain generally bullish on Meta, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $840.19, even though some firms have trimmed targets recently. Meta also reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS estimates and posting 33.1% revenue growth year over year.

Investment House LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 160,951 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,328 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 5.0% of Investment House LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Investment House LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $106,242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Business Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 237.7% during the 4th quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,843 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $2,537,000 after purchasing an additional 2,705 shares during the last quarter. Hardy Reed LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 5,891 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $3,889,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 191.9% in the fourth quarter. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd now owns 14,507 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $9,576,000 after acquiring an additional 9,537 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. now owns 7,400 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $4,885,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 52.7% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 1,919 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,267,000 after acquiring an additional 662 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on META. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $835.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wolfe Research decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $850.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $840.19.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched paid subscription plans across its flagship apps and Meta AI, opening a new monetization path that could reduce reliance on ad revenue. Mark Zuckerberg says a Meta cloud computing business 'definitely on the table'
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators are pointing to the subscription push as a meaningful upside driver, with some estimating it could add billions in annual revenue if adoption is strong. Meta's Subscription Push Could Add $13.5 Billion By 2028 Across Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta also said it may eventually use excess AI/data-center capacity for a cloud business, which adds long-term optionality but is still early-stage. Mark Zuckerberg says a Meta cloud computing business 'definitely on the table'
• Neutral Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend, which is modest but reinforces capital-return strength. Meta Announces Quarterly Cash Dividend
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported Meta’s employee mouse-click tracking tool for AI training may run into EU privacy concerns, creating regulatory risk around data collection and cross-border use. Exclusive: Meta tool to track employee mouse clicks on collision course with EU privacy rules
• Negative Sentiment: Recent commentary from Jim Cramer and disclosures of insider selling add some caution around execution and valuation. Jim Cramer Says Meta “Has Not Excelled in a Visible Way”

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total value of $1,748,612.10. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 10,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,645,103.65. This trade represents a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total transaction of $5,589,088.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at $8,014,978.24. The trade was a 41.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 42,445 shares of company stock worth $26,306,420. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.4%

NASDAQ META opened at $632.51 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $796.25. The company's 50 day moving average price is $617.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $636.88. 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 $1.60 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.99, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.43 earnings per share. Meta Platforms's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.63%.

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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