Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Purchased by J. L. Bainbridge & Co. Inc.

Key Points

• J. L. Bainbridge & Co. Inc. increased its Meta Platforms stake by 21.8% in the first quarter, buying 16,126 additional shares and bringing its total to 90,193 shares worth about $51.6 million.
• Other institutional investors also boosted or added to their Meta holdings, and hedge funds and other institutions now own 79.91% of the company’s stock.
• Meta’s stock has been supported by optimism around its AI compute/cloud strategy, but the company still faces risks from slower-than-expected AI agent progress and ongoing legal/regulatory issues.

J. L. Bainbridge & Co. Inc. grew its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 21.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 90,193 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 16,126 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 4.6% of J. L. Bainbridge & Co. Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. J. L. Bainbridge & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $51,602,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Keybank National Association OH lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 133,798 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $88,319,000 after purchasing an additional 18,169 shares in the last quarter. WMS Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $876,000. Becker Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,052 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $25,741,000 after purchasing an additional 1,657 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 84,059 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $55,487,000 after purchasing an additional 3,336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC now owns 6,933 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,091,000 after purchasing an additional 968 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total transaction of $1,268,023.68. Following the sale, the insider owned 1,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at $681,890.56. This trade represents a 65.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 13th. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 20.83% 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 39,013 shares of company stock valued at $24,115,999. Insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting 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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on META. Benchmark assumed coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $750.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wolfe Research decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Susquehanna raised Meta Platforms from a "positive" rating to a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $840.64.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $582.88 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.47 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.19, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a 50-day moving average of $604.62 and a 200-day moving average of $628.52. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. Meta Platforms's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.43 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.46 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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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