Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Bought by Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp

Key Points

• Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp increased its Meta Platforms stake by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 92,782 shares valued at about $61.2 million.
• Several other institutional investors also boosted their Meta positions, and overall 79.91% of Meta’s stock is held by hedge funds and other institutions.
• Meta’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $10.44 and revenue of $56.31 billion, while analysts remain generally upbeat with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $840.19.

Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 92,782 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,232 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.1% of Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $61,245,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Community Bank N.A. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 25.2% in the 4th quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 845 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $558,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 93,212 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $61,528,000 after acquiring an additional 16,197 shares during the last quarter. Cascades Capital Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Cascades Capital Asset Management LLC now owns 4,349 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $2,870,000 after acquiring an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. Birchbrook Inc. raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 30.3% in the 4th quarter. Birchbrook Inc. now owns 3,213 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $2,121,000 after acquiring an additional 747 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 658,974 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $434,982,000 after acquiring an additional 93,178 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the company'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 transaction of $4,769,642.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 414 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $251,641.62. This represents a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible 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, COO Javier Olivan sold 837 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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 152,728 shares of company stock valued at $96,925,217 over the last quarter. Corporate 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 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on META shares. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $760.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $810.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $900.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Raymond James Financial decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $800.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have given 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 $840.19.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.5%

NASDAQ META opened at $610.26 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $796.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35. The firm's fifty day moving average is $617.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $637.00. The firm has a market cap of $1.54 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.43 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.49 earnings per share 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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