Mather Group LLC. Purchases 954 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Mather Group LLC raised its Meta stake by 4% in Q4, buying 954 shares to hold 24,978 shares worth about $16.49 million, and institutional investors now own roughly 79.91% of the stock.
• Analysts collectively give Meta a "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $845.54, though firms have issued mixed target changes as they weigh AI/capex opportunities against regulatory/legal risks.
• Despite a strong quarter (Q4 EPS $8.88 vs. $8.16 estimate; revenue $59.89B) and a quarterly dividend of $0.525, corporate insiders sold about 161,448 shares worth $103.3M in the last quarter.

Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 24,978 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 954 shares during the quarter. Mather Group LLC.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $16,488,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $20,230,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,537,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares during the last quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 294.7% during the 1st quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd now owns 150,000 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $86,454,000 after purchasing an additional 112,000 shares during the last quarter. Dymon Asia Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at $213,000. Finally, Capital & Planning LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at $322,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $849.00 to $856.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $835.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Roth Mkm reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $845.54.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 926 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $605.38, for a total value of $560,581.88. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 13,335 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,072,742.30. This represents a 6.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $632.02, for a total transaction of $366,571.60. Following the sale, the director owned 4,427 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,797,952.54. This trade represents a 11.58% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 161,448 shares of company stock worth $103,333,788. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley and other firms are calling Meta a tactical buying opportunity and reiterating Buy/top-pick views, arguing the pullback has created a discounted entry given Meta’s fundamentals and AI exposure. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies also highlights that regulatory scrutiny is a persistent theme but not necessarily a crippling near-term catalyst, framing current legal headlines as a potential buying opportunity for longer-term investors. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta has begun testing a paid Instagram subscription ("Instagram Plus") in select markets — a potential new ARPU/revenue stream if expanded, but currently a limited pilot with uncertain near-term revenue impact. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is sharing learnings from its Meta Lab stores with wearables/retail partners — a strategic move to accelerate Reality Labs retail presence and partner adoption, but with gradual monetization potential. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta’s El Paso data‑center project has grown to a ~$10B, 1‑gigawatt complex — evidence of big infrastructure buildout to support AI workloads; bullish for long‑term capacity but highlights larger capex commitments. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Recent court losses and ongoing regulatory/legal scrutiny remain material headline risk — coverage warns these rulings could constrain AI research practices and raise liability exposure, increasing near‑term uncertainty. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and commentators continue to debate Meta’s heavy capex (large multi‑year AI/Reality Labs spending). Deeper analyses flag the risk of near‑term negative free cash flow and pressure on margins despite long‑term optionality. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley lowered its price target (from $825 to $775) even while keeping an overweight rating — a mixed signal that narrows upside expectations versus earlier forecasts. Article Title

Meta Platforms Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of META opened at $536.38 on Tuesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $479.80 and a 1 year high of $796.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $642.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $664.52. The stock has a market cap of $1.36 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.82, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.30.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.16 by $0.72. The business had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.33 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 30.08%.Meta Platforms's revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $8.02 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.94%.

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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