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

Key Points

• Provident Investment Management reduced its Meta Platforms stake by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 1,891 shares and leaving it with 64,134 shares valued at about $42.3 million.
• Meta beat expectations in its latest quarterly results, reporting EPS of $10.44 versus the $6.67 estimate and revenue of $56.31 billion, up 33.1% year over year.
• Wall Street remains mostly bullish despite some price-target cuts, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average target of $840.19; the stock recently traded around $607.38.

Provident Investment Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 64,134 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 1,891 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 3.9% of Provident Investment Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Provident Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $42,334,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 36.8% in the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 78 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merrithew & Thorsten Inc acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $52,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $775.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wedbush increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $835.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Pivotal Research reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $930.00 to $910.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Four research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $840.19.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $607.38 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The business has a fifty day moving average of $618.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $637.18. The stock has a market cap of $1.54 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.08, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $520.26 and a 52-week high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 company had revenue of $56.31 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.43 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total transaction of $5,589,088.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,014,978.24. This represents a 41.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed 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, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total value of $4,769,642.01. Following 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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 sold a total of 152,728 shares of company stock worth $96,925,217 in the last three months. 13.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines 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

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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