Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Purchased by GPM Growth Investors Inc.

Key Points

• GPM Growth Investors increased its Meta Platforms stake by 13.1% in the fourth quarter, adding 1,035 shares to bring its total to 8,943 shares worth about $5.9 million.
• Several other institutional investors also raised their holdings, and institutions overall now own 79.91% of Meta’s stock, showing continued heavy investor interest.
• Wall Street remains broadly bullish on Meta, with analysts giving it a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $840.31, even as some firms trimmed their targets slightly.

GPM Growth Investors Inc. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 13.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,943 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,035 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 2.3% of GPM Growth Investors Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. GPM Growth Investors Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $5,903,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vivid Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Vivid Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,054 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $2,676,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 334,651 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $220,900,000 after purchasing an additional 15,220 shares in the last quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 35.0% during the fourth quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC now owns 5,053 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $3,335,000 after purchasing an additional 1,310 shares in the last quarter. Certuity LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 21,251 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $14,028,000 after purchasing an additional 939 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $834,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America reduced their price target 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. Argus reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $800.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $840.31.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $6,645,103.65. The trade was a 20.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total value of $36,471,323.70. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 168,193 shares of company stock worth $107,642,717 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts remain bullish on Meta Platforms, with recent notes from firms like BofA and Erste Group lifting earnings estimates or price targets after strong Q1 results, reinforcing expectations for meaningful upside. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s AI push is drawing attention as the company reportedly works on AI agents and improved models like Muse Spark, which could support new products and future monetization opportunities. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary pieces continue to frame Meta as an important AI and large-cap tech name, but these are mostly opinion-driven and do not add new fundamental information for the stock. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta was also mentioned in a deal roundup about acquiring Assured Robot Intelligence, but the report provided little detail, so the market impact is unclear. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Reports highlighting employee dissatisfaction and impending layoffs suggest Meta’s AI transformation is creating internal friction, while also reminding investors that the company’s AI ambitions come with higher costs. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concern remains centered on Meta’s enormous 2026 capex plan, estimated at $125 billion to $145 billion, which is fueling fears that profitability could come under pressure before AI investments pay off. Article Title

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META opened at $609.63 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25. The company has a market capitalization of $1.54 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $627.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $645.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.43 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

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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