Meridian Wealth Management LLC Acquires 31,304 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Meridian Wealth Management LLC nearly doubled its Meta Platforms stake in the fourth quarter, buying 31,304 additional shares and bringing its total to 62,772 shares worth about $41.4 million.
• Meta’s latest earnings beat expectations, with EPS of $10.44 versus the $6.67 consensus and revenue of $56.31 billion, up 33.1% year over year.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive on META, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $840.19, even as some analysts trimmed targets and others highlighted risks tied to heavy AI spending.

Meridian Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 99.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 62,772 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 31,304 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.5% of Meridian Wealth Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Meridian Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $41,435,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $132,015,115,000 after acquiring an additional 7,269,279 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.9% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $64,158,971,000 after acquiring an additional 1,650,435 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at about $1,191,175,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at about $813,994,000. Finally, Concentrum Wealth Management increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 948.7% during the third quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management now owns 1,243,577 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $913,000 after acquiring an additional 1,124,998 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.4%

NASDAQ META opened at $607.38 on Friday. 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 stock's 50 day moving average is $618.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $637.18. The company has a market capitalization of $1.54 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.08, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $796.25.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. The company had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.43 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the topic of several research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $750.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $920.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $900.00 price target on Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $930.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Four research 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $840.19.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Several bullish takes argue Meta is undervalued relative to its earnings power, with strong profitability, buybacks, and AI investments that could support long-term growth if the company’s spending translates into revenue. Meta Platforms: A Call Option On The AI Race
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s AI and product rollout efforts remain active, including expanded AI features in WhatsApp and renewed focus on smart glasses, which reinforce its long-term AI and AR strategy. Meta Platforms, Inc. (META) Expands AI Private Chats and Renewable Energy Deals
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts still see upside, with Wells Fargo only slightly trimming its target while maintaining an Overweight rating, suggesting Wall Street remains constructive on Meta’s AI infrastructure bet. Wells Fargo Trims Meta Platforms Price Target to $765
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta settled the first U.S. school-district lawsuit tied to social media addiction, reducing legal overhang for now, though broader litigation risk remains unresolved. Meta settles first US case over school costs tied to youth mental health
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he does not expect more companywide layoffs this year, which may calm employees but is unlikely to materially change the stock’s near-term outlook. Exclusive: Meta CEO tells employees he does not expect more company-wide layoffs this year
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta also continues to see insider sales and debate around layoffs, but those moves were largely tied to pre-arranged tax-withholding plans and are less likely to be a major market signal. Susan Li Sells 2,127 Shares of Meta Platforms
• Negative Sentiment: Meta’s biggest drag remains its aggressive AI spending, with 2026 capex guidance still extremely high and investors questioning whether layoffs will generate enough savings to offset that bill. Meta Platforms 10% Layoff Raises a Bigger Question About AI Spending
• Negative Sentiment: The company’s 10% workforce reduction and related restructuring have raised concerns about morale, execution risk, and whether management is cutting costs fast enough to support AI investments. Meta Begins Laying Off Thousands of Employees as It Transforms Around AI
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is also facing fresh regulatory and legal scrutiny, including EU complaints over handling financial scams and ongoing criticism tied to youth mental-health lawsuits. Google, Meta, TikTok face EU consumer complaints about handling of financial scams

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 837 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.35, for a total transaction of $510,025.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 14,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,933,071. This trade represents a 5.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total value of $5,589,088.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,014,978.24. The trade was a 41.08% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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. Insiders have sold a total of 152,728 shares of company stock worth $96,925,217 in the last three months. Insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

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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