Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Acquired by Pure Financial Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Pure Financial Advisors LLC increased its Meta Platforms stake by 50.6% in the fourth quarter, adding 3,027 shares to reach 9,007 shares valued at about $5.95 million.
• Meta continues to attract heavy institutional ownership, with large holders like Vanguard and State Street also boosting positions; overall, institutions own 79.91% of the company.
• Recent earnings were strong: Meta reported $10.44 EPS versus $6.67 expected, while revenue rose 33.1% year over year to $56.31 billion, reinforcing analyst optimism despite mixed views on AI spending and restructuring costs.

Pure Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 50.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,007 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 3,027 shares during the period. Pure Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $5,945,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $132,015,115,000 after purchasing an additional 7,269,279 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,650,435 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,191,175,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $813,994,000. Finally, Concentrum Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 948.7% in the 3rd quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management now owns 1,243,577 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $913,000 after purchasing an additional 1,124,998 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $602.61 on Wednesday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $620.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $637.91. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $796.25. 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 firm has a market cap of $1.52 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.43 EPS. Meta Platforms's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.65 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Negative Sentiment: Meta began laying off about 8,000 employees, or roughly 10% of its workforce, as part of a broader AI-first transformation. The move highlights rising restructuring costs and suggests more cuts could follow later this year. Meta Begins Laying Off 8,000 Employees Amid A.I. Transformation
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Meta is cutting jobs while ramping up AI investment have kept attention on margin pressure and the scale of the company’s AI spending bill, which some investors view as a near-term drag on earnings. Meta Moves 7,000 Workers Into AI Roles Ahead of Job Cuts
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta offered rival AI chatbot makers limited free access to WhatsApp in Europe before charging once usage limits are reached. The move could support platform engagement and developer adoption, but the financial impact is still unclear. Exclusive: Meta offers AI rival chatbots limited free WhatsApp access, sources say
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta also drew attention for new AI-related product and safety initiatives, including an incognito chat feature for WhatsApp’s AI assistant and new parental supervision tools, but these are not likely to move the stock in the near term. Meta Platforms (META) Launching Incognito Chat for WhatsApp AI Assistant

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Pivotal Research lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $930.00 to $910.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $808.00 to $890.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $908.00 to $865.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a 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 assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $840.31.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total value of $5,589,088.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,014,978.24. This trade represents a 41.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total value 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 $251,641.62. This represents a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 sold 171,517 shares of company stock valued at $109,138,067 in the last three months. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.