Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Hartford Investment Management Co.

Key Points

• Hartford Investment Management Co. reduced its Meta Platforms stake by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, selling 1,282 shares and ending with 125,790 shares worth about $83.0 million. Meta still represented roughly 2.5% of Hartford’s portfolio and was its 8th-largest holding.
• Meta continues to attract strong Wall Street support despite some recent target cuts, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $840.19. The company also reported a strong latest quarter, beating EPS estimates by a wide margin and posting 33.1% revenue growth year over year.
• Investor attention remains focused on AI spending and insider activity, as Meta faces questions about whether heavy capital expenditures will pay off and whether recent layoffs can offset costs. Several insider sales were disclosed, though some were tied to pre-arranged trading plans and tax withholding obligations.

Hartford Investment Management Co. trimmed its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 125,790 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 1,282 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 2.5% of Hartford Investment Management Co.'s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Hartford Investment Management Co.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $83,033,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 454 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $334,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. First National Bank Sioux Falls lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 2,001 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,321,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 984 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $649,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Vista Capital Partners Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the second quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $794,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.9% during the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 539 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $396,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Several bullish takes argue Meta is undervalued relative to its earnings power, with strong profitability, buybacks, and AI investments that could support long-term growth if the company’s spending translates into revenue. Meta Platforms: A Call Option On The AI Race
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s AI and product rollout efforts remain active, including expanded AI features in WhatsApp and renewed focus on smart glasses, which reinforce its long-term AI and AR strategy. Meta Platforms, Inc. (META) Expands AI Private Chats and Renewable Energy Deals
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts still see upside, with Wells Fargo only slightly trimming its target while maintaining an Overweight rating, suggesting Wall Street remains constructive on Meta’s AI infrastructure bet. Wells Fargo Trims Meta Platforms Price Target to $765
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta settled the first U.S. school-district lawsuit tied to social media addiction, reducing legal overhang for now, though broader litigation risk remains unresolved. Meta settles first US case over school costs tied to youth mental health
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he does not expect more companywide layoffs this year, which may calm employees but is unlikely to materially change the stock’s near-term outlook. Exclusive: Meta CEO tells employees he does not expect more company-wide layoffs this year
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta also continues to see insider sales and debate around layoffs, but those moves were largely tied to pre-arranged tax-withholding plans and are less likely to be a major market signal. Susan Li Sells 2,127 Shares of Meta Platforms
• Negative Sentiment: Meta’s biggest drag remains its aggressive AI spending, with 2026 capex guidance still extremely high and investors questioning whether layoffs will generate enough savings to offset that bill. Meta Platforms 10% Layoff Raises a Bigger Question About AI Spending
• Negative Sentiment: The company’s 10% workforce reduction and related restructuring have raised concerns about morale, execution risk, and whether management is cutting costs fast enough to support AI investments. Meta Begins Laying Off Thousands of Employees as It Transforms Around AI
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is also facing fresh regulatory and legal scrutiny, including EU complaints over handling financial scams and ongoing criticism tied to youth mental-health lawsuits. Google, Meta, TikTok face EU consumer complaints about handling of financial scams

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total value 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. The trade was a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total transaction of $36,471,323.70. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 152,728 shares of company stock valued at $96,925,217. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the subject of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $810.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $808.00 to $890.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $835.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $840.19.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.4%

META opened at $607.38 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35. The company has a fifty day moving average of $618.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $637.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.54 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.08, a PEG 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.43 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.49 earnings per share for the current year.

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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