Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Simplicity Wealth LLC

Key Points

• Simplicity Wealth LLC reduced its Meta Platforms stake by 23.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 5,327 shares and leaving it with 17,008 shares valued at about $11.2 million.
• Meta’s latest earnings were stronger than expected, with Q1 EPS of $10.44 versus $6.67 expected and revenue of $56.31 billion, up 33.1% year over year.
• Despite solid fundamentals, analysts have recently trimmed price targets and concerns remain around Meta’s large AI-related capex plans and insider selling activity.

Simplicity Wealth LLC cut its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 23.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,008 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 5,327 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 0.7% of Simplicity Wealth LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Simplicity Wealth LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $11,227,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 34.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 52,252 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $38,373,000 after acquiring an additional 13,311 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 133,798 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $88,319,000 after buying an additional 18,169 shares during the period. Becker Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $25,741,000 after buying an additional 1,657 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 84,059 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $55,487,000 after buying an additional 3,336 shares during the period. Finally, Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $5,091,000 after buying an additional 968 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META stock opened at $609.63 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $627.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $645.30. The stock has a market cap of $1.54 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.16, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.25. 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 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. The firm 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 revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.43 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $667.00, for a total value of $386,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,565,949. The trade was a 13.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 926 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.74, for a total value of $562,767.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 7,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,727,609.46. This represents a 10.64% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 167,676 shares of company stock valued at $107,299,848. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on META. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $725.00 price objective (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wolfe Research decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 10th. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $760.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Roth Mkm reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $908.00 to $865.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $840.31.

Meta Platforms 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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