Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Bought by Apollon Wealth Management LLC

Key Points

• Apollon Wealth Management increased its Meta Platforms stake by 18.1% in the first quarter, buying 16,471 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 107,625 shares worth about $61.6 million.
• Several other institutional investors also raised their Meta positions, and hedge funds and other institutions now own about 79.91% of the company’s stock.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive on Meta despite some target cuts, with an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $840.64 per share.

Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 18.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 107,625 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 16,471 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 1.0% of Apollon Wealth Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Apollon Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $61,576,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pasadena Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Pasadena Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,574 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $900,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Vicus Capital increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 5.8% during the first quarter. Vicus Capital now owns 3,089 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,767,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Riverbend Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Riverbend Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,838 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,623,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Formidable Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 28,890 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $16,529,000 after purchasing an additional 2,027 shares during the period. Finally, Penney Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Penney Financial LLC now owns 399 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on META. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $750.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $775.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 30th. Arete Research set a $735.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $885.00 to $820.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $840.64.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Meta is building a cloud business to sell excess AI compute have fueled a sharp rally, as investors see a fresh way to turn heavy AI investment into revenue. Zuckerberg says AI agent development going slower than expected
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street has reacted favorably to the cloud-compute plan, with analysts and media coverage suggesting the strategy could become a multi-billion-dollar business and improve META’s monetization profile. Meta's push into cloud computing means Wall Street has to prepare for lower margins
• Positive Sentiment: Unusual options activity showed strong investor demand for upside exposure, suggesting traders are positioning for further gains if Meta confirms the cloud strategy. Jim Cramer Says Meta Is Entering AI's 'Most Lucrative Game'
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta also rolled out a new AI-powered gaming app called Pocket, which highlights continued product experimentation but is not yet a major earnings driver. Meta quietly launches vibe-coded gaming app Pocket
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta announced it is joining a video distribution patent pool, which could reduce legal friction around video content but is unlikely to move the stock on its own. Access Advance Welcomes Meta Platforms, Inc. and Alibaba Group to the Video Distribution Patent Pool
• Negative Sentiment: Mark Zuckerberg said AI agent development has been progressing more slowly than expected, a reminder that Meta’s broader AI ambitions may take longer to pay off. Zuckerberg says AI agent development going slower than expected
• Negative Sentiment: India asked Meta to delay WhatsApp usernames over fraud concerns, adding regulatory risk around a feature tied to WhatsApp monetization and privacy efforts. India asks Meta to hold WhatsApp username rollout over fraud fears
• Negative Sentiment: Meta also lost a bid to dismiss a states’ lawsuit over Facebook and Instagram addiction claims, which keeps legal overhang in focus. Meta loses bid to dismiss states' lawsuit over Facebook and Instagram addiction claims

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $582.88 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.47 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $796.25. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $604.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $628.52.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The company had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.43 EPS. Meta Platforms's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is presently 7.63%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total value of $1,268,023.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 1,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $681,890.56. This represents a 65.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 140 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total value of $84,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 12,846 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,707,600. This trade represents a 1.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 39,013 shares of company stock valued at $24,115,999 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

About Meta Platforms

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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