Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Purchased by Capital Investment Counsel LLC

Key Points

• Capital Investment Counsel LLC boosted its Meta Platforms stake by 1,420.3% in the fourth quarter, ending with 9,958 shares worth about $6.57 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other institutions holding 79.91% of Meta’s shares. Major firms like Vanguard, State Street, and Capital World Investors also increased their positions.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on Meta, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of about $840.31. The company also topped earnings expectations, reporting $10.44 EPS and 33.1% revenue growth year over year.

Capital Investment Counsel LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 1,420.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,958 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,303 shares during the quarter. Capital Investment Counsel LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $6,573,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.8% in the fourth 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 grew its position in Meta Platforms by 1.9% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $64,158,971,000 after acquiring an additional 1,650,435 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its position in Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 39,247,690 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $28,823,375,000 after acquiring an additional 278,180 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,153,754 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $12,597,374,000 after acquiring an additional 142,229 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Meta Platforms by 4.1% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,332,168 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $10,525,258,000 after acquiring an additional 558,792 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial lowered their price objective on 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. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $840.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Erste Group Bank lowered Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $908.00 to $865.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Four 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 target price of $840.31.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: One bullish analysis argues Meta is attractively priced for a recession scenario, citing 33% year-over-year revenue growth, strong operating margins, and the potential for long-term margin expansion as AI investments drive efficiency. Why Meta Is My Top Pick: Priced For A Recession With Massive Upside
• Positive Sentiment: Meta is testing deeper AI integration in Threads, which could improve engagement and strengthen its product ecosystem over time. Threads tests a Meta AI integration that works similarly to Grok
• Positive Sentiment: Meta offered rival AI chatbots temporary free access to WhatsApp as part of talks with EU antitrust regulators, suggesting the company is actively trying to reduce regulatory friction in Europe. Meta offers rival AI chatbots free access to WhatsApp month
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles discuss Meta’s role in the broader attention economy and compare its platform model with earlier media strategies, but these are not immediate stock catalysts. Ted Turner built the original infinite scroll
• Negative Sentiment: Santa Clara County filed a lawsuit accusing Meta of profiting from scam ads on Facebook and Instagram, adding to concerns about ad quality, moderation, and legal exposure. California county sues Meta over scam ads
• Negative Sentiment: Meta also lost a court fight in Europe over compensation for Italian publishers, reinforcing ongoing regulatory and content-rights risks. Meta loses court fight over compensation to Italian publishers
• Negative Sentiment: Fresh reports and lawsuits alleging scam ads targeting seniors, along with investigations into Meta’s board oversight and privacy/AI practices, could keep sentiment under pressure if they broaden. Meta Faces Fresh Controversy Over Facebook Scam Ads

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total transaction of $36,471,323.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total value of $1,748,612.10. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 10,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,645,103.65. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 167,676 shares of company stock worth $107,299,848 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.7%

META opened at $603.00 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $796.25. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $624.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $642.58. The firm has a market cap of $1.53 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.63%.

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.

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