Lee Danner & Bass Inc. Has $14.48 Million Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Lee Danner & Bass Inc. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 16.1% to 21,933 shares, a position worth $14.48 million that makes up about 1.0% of the firm's holdings (its 20th-largest holding).
• Meta Platforms delivered a strong Q1 beat with EPS of $10.44 versus $6.67 expected and revenue of $56.31 billion (up 33.1% year-over-year), producing a 32.8% net margin and 36.9% return on equity.
• While analysts are broadly positive (average consensus rating "Moderate Buy" and target ~$840.31), risks include massive planned capex for 2026 (~$125–$145B plus ~$10B for AI) and recent insider selling that could create near-term pressure.

Lee Danner & Bass Inc. grew its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 16.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,933 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,046 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 1.0% of Lee Danner & Bass Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Lee Danner & Bass Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $14,478,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 24,476 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $16,156,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,203 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $794,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Elevated Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $373,000. Simon Quick Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 20,344 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $13,429,000 after acquiring an additional 638 shares during the period. Finally, Facet Wealth Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Facet Wealth Inc. now owns 15,379 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $10,284,000 after purchasing an additional 1,524 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $616.81 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $796.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm's 50 day moving average is $627.67 and its 200-day moving average is $645.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.42, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The business had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.43 earnings per share. Meta Platforms's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on META. Evercore upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Argus reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $800.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $840.31.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat and valuation support — analysts highlight a 33% revenue increase and large EPS beat, arguing META is undervalued after the pullback; this reinforces buy thesis given strong ad monetization and cash flow. Meta Is Undervalued, But Will Need A Second Growth Engine (Rating Upgrade)
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional accumulation — Fisher Asset Management recently increased its Meta stake, signaling continued confidence from large investors and supporting near-term demand for shares. Fisher Asset Management Boosts Meta Stake With 75,590 Shares
• Positive Sentiment: Data-center demand validation — Corning disclosed a multi-year, $6B supply agreement that names Meta among hyperscale customers, validating ongoing infrastructure commitment that underpins Meta’s AI/data-center strategy. Light Speed Returns: Corning Cashes In on NVIDIA Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Product roadmap — reports say Meta is building a consumer-friendly agentic AI assistant, which could drive longer-term user/product monetization but is still early-stage. Big Tech's Personal AI Agents Are Coming for the to-Do List
• Neutral Sentiment: Financing activity — Bloomberg-sourced reports say Meta is working on up to ~$13B in data-center financing for an El Paso build; that eases near-term cash outflow but also signals large ongoing capital needs. Here’s Why Meta Platforms (META) Is Among the 10 Strong Buy S&P 500 Stocks to Invest In
• Neutral Sentiment: Legal update — Meta has asked a judge to overturn a landmark jury verdict in a social-media addiction case; an appeal reduces immediate downside but legal overhang remains. Meta asks California judge to throw out landmark social media addiction verdict
• Negative Sentiment: Massive capex concern — coverage highlights Meta’s projected 2026 capex of $125–$145B (plus an extra $10B on AI), which keeps investors anxious about cash deployment, near-term margins, and capital returns. Tens of Thousands of Tech Workers Are Being Laid Off in 2026. The $725 Billion That Replaced Them Is Going to Four Companies.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — COO Javier Olivan executed stock sales under a 10b5-1 plan; while pre-arranged, such disclosures can add to short-term selling pressure. SEC filing: Javier Olivan insider sale
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst pushback — some firms (eg. Mizuho) have trimmed expectations, reflecting concern that ad growth and margin leverage may slow as Meta scales heavy infra spending. Mizuho Has Lowered Expectations for Meta Platforms NASDAQ: META Stock Price

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $667.00, for a total value of $386,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,847 shares in the company, valued at $2,565,949. This trade represents a 13.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 926 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.74, for a total value of $562,767.24. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 7,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,727,609.46. This represents a 10.64% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 168,193 shares of company stock valued at $107,642,717. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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