Meta Platforms, Inc. $META is GR Financial Group LLC's 8th Largest Position

Key Points

• GR Financial Group LLC cut its Meta stake by 21.5% in the fourth quarter, but Meta still ranked as the firm’s 8th-largest holding at $2.161 million.
• Meta continues to draw strong institutional interest overall, with 79.91% of shares owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors, while analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus and a $840.19 average price target.
• Recent company and market developments include Meta’s launch of a new Forum app, a shift of resources toward AI, and continued legal scrutiny, including a Texas lawsuit and other regulatory risks.

GR Financial Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 21.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,274 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 898 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 0.5% of GR Financial Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. GR Financial Group LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,161,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of META. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $20,230,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,537,000 after buying an additional 875 shares during the period. Headwater Capital Co Ltd boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 294.7% in the 1st quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd now owns 150,000 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $86,454,000 after buying an additional 112,000 shares during the period. Dymon Asia Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $213,000. Finally, Capital & Planning LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $322,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on META. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $1,015.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $765.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $920.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Argus reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $800.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $935.00 to $945.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Four equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $840.19.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched a standalone “Forum” app for Facebook Groups, signaling a new product push that could deepen user engagement and add pressure to competitors like Reddit. Meta quietly launches a new Reddit-like app called Forum
• Positive Sentiment: Meta is cutting jobs and shifting resources toward AI, which investors may view as an efficiency move that supports long-term profit margins and keeps the company focused on its biggest growth area. Meta Cuts 8,000 Jobs, Boosts AI Team: What This Means for Employees
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta also settled a school-district lawsuit over alleged social media addiction harms, removing one legal overhang, though the broader regulatory and litigation risk around its platforms remains. Texas sues Meta, WhatsApp over encryption privacy claims
• Neutral Sentiment: Other headlines around Meta’s dual-class control structure, insider share sales, and broader AI spending debate are adding to the narrative, but they are less likely to drive the stock on their own than the new app launch and workforce reshaping.
• Negative Sentiment: The Texas attorney general’s lawsuit against Meta and WhatsApp over encryption and privacy claims adds another legal risk for investors to monitor. Google, Meta, TikTok face EU consumer complaints about handling of financial scams
• Negative Sentiment: Competition concerns are also in focus after Meta’s Forum app appeared to pressure Reddit shares, reinforcing worries that Meta’s scale lets it copy or crowd out rival social platforms.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total transaction of $4,769,642.01. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 414 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $251,641.62. The trade was a 94.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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, COO Javier Olivan sold 837 shares of Meta Platforms 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 sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 14,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,933,071. This represents a 5.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 152,728 shares of company stock valued at $96,925,217. Insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $610.26 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $617.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $637.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $796.25. The company has a market cap of $1.54 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.18, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.43 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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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