Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Position Trimmed by Washington Trust Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Washington Trust Advisors trimmed its Meta stake by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, though Meta remains a major holding for the firm at 3.7% of its portfolio and nearly $48.5 million in value.
• Insider selling has continued, with COO Javier Olivan and Director Robert M. Kimmitt both selling shares; overall insiders sold 158,971 shares worth about $101.7 million in the last quarter.
• Analyst sentiment remains mostly positive, with several firms maintaining buy-style ratings and a consensus target price of about $840.31, even as Meta faces concern over heavy AI spending and large-scale layoffs.

Washington Trust Advisors Inc. decreased its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 73,534 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 1,205 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 3.7% of Washington Trust Advisors Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Washington Trust Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $48,539,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of META. Westchester Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Key Capital Management INC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 36.8% during the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 78 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merrithew & Thorsten Inc bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $52,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 926 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $604.57, for a total value of $559,831.82. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 6,853 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,143,118.21. This trade represents a 11.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $667.00, for a total transaction of $386,860.00. Following the sale, the director owned 3,847 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,565,949. The trade was a 13.10% decrease in their position. 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 158,971 shares of company stock worth $101,676,729. Insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s AI and advertising strategy still appears to be generating real business results, with one analysis pointing to strong ad impressions, higher ad prices, and continued revenue growth that could help justify its heavy capital spending. Meta's Selloff Looks Like A Major Misread
• Positive Sentiment: Meta also announced new parental supervision tools across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and Horizon, which could support trust and platform engagement over time. Meta's new tools allow parents to better supervise their kids' social media accounts. Will they work?
• Positive Sentiment: Zefr said it is deepening its partnership with Meta by adding AI-powered pre-bid controls to Threads, a sign that advertisers continue building on Meta’s newer products. Zefr Deepens Meta Partnership, Bringing AI-Powered Pre-Bid Controls to Threads Feed
• Neutral Sentiment: Several hedge-fund filings showed mixed investor sentiment, with some managers adding to Meta while others trimmed stakes, offering no clear single-direction signal for the shares. Tiger Global boosts Meta Platforms stake by 336,249 shares
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is starting layoffs affecting about 8,000 employees, roughly 10% of its workforce, and expects the cuts to roll out in waves this week and possibly continue later in the year. Meta layoffs starting this week stress harsh AI reality inside Zuckerberg's company
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Meta is reorganizing 7,000 employees toward AI and telling workers to stay remote during the layoff process reinforce fears that rising AI investment is creating pressure on headcount and margins. Meta Reassigns 7,000 Employees to Focus on A.I.
• Negative Sentiment: Commentary around Meta’s “brutal” AI spending and large-scale job cuts is fueling concern that capital expenditures are getting too large before investors see enough return. Meta's 8,000 Job Cuts To Foot The $145B AI Bill

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $810.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $730.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $835.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Four research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $840.31.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $611.21 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $796.25. The company has a market capitalization of $1.55 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.22, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.25. The firm's 50-day moving average is $621.20 and its 200 day moving average is $638.95.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. The business had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.43 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.65 EPS for the current 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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