Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA Has $170.73 Million Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA boosted its Meta stake 14.6% in Q4 to 253,690 shares worth $170.73 million, making META its 20th-largest holding (~1.5% of assets).
• Meta beat Q1 estimates with EPS of $10.44 (vs. $6.67 est.) and revenue of $56.31 billion (up 33.1% YoY); Wall Street’s consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $840.67.
• Insider selling and higher CapEx are notable headwinds: insiders sold 166,638 shares (~$106.7M) in the past 90 days, and raised 2026 capital-expenditure guidance for AI data-center buildout, raising near-term free-cash-flow concerns.

Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA boosted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 14.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 253,690 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 32,360 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 1.5% of Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA's holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $170,726,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $64,158,971,000 after buying an additional 1,650,435 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 39,247,690 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $28,823,375,000 after buying an additional 278,180 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,153,754 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $12,597,374,000 after buying an additional 142,229 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Meta Platforms by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,332,168 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $10,525,258,000 after purchasing an additional 558,792 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Meta Platforms by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,619,341 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $10,001,772,000 after purchasing an additional 481,276 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on META shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $920.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Raymond James Financial decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $800.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Evercore raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Four investment 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $840.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were 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 owned 2,841 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,793,352.84. This trade represents a 74.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 166,638 shares of company stock worth $106,697,681 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $608.74 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $629.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $647.50. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $520.26 and a 52-week high of $796.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.54 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.43 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 30.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th were given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is 7.63%.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat & AI ad momentum — Meta reported robust Q1 revenue and EPS, and management highlighted AI-driven ad tools and full‑stack model+chip co‑design that are expanding ad automation and advertiser reach. Meta Does Things Their Own Way
• Positive Sentiment: Robotics/AI talent add — Meta acquired humanoid‑robot startup Assured Robot Intelligence to accelerate robotics model optimization, signaling product diversification in AI/robotics. WSJ: Meta Acquires Assured Robot Intelligence
• Positive Sentiment: Energy and creator initiatives — Meta is signing energy partnerships (space solar/long‑duration storage) to secure power for compute-heavy AI centers and piloting stablecoin creator payouts — moves that support long‑term AI scale and monetization. AI drives growth (context)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst reactions mixed — Some firms (e.g., Stifel) trimmed price targets but retained “buy”; others raised targets on longer‑term AI upside. These tweaks sustain divergent Wall Street views on valuation vs. heavy CapEx. Benzinga: Analyst Moves
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider sales disclosed — COO Javier Oliván sold shares under a Rule 10b5‑1 plan; routine but notable given market noise. SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Large CapEx raise spooks investors — Meta lifted 2026 capital expenditure guidance materially (now targeting major AI data‑center buildout), prompting concerns about near‑term free‑cash‑flow and returns; that is the primary reason the stock has been sold. Reuters: CapEx & market reaction
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/legal pressure — Threats to pull apps from New Mexico over child‑safety rules and US senators’ scrutiny over ad removals amplify litigation/compliance risk and potential costs. Reuters: Lawmaker Scrutiny
• Negative Sentiment: Reality Labs losses & deal setbacks — Continued multi‑billion losses in Reality Labs and a blocked Manus acquisition in China highlight near‑term cash drag and execution risks on speculative bets. CNBC: Reality Labs Loss

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.