Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stock Holdings Cut by Northern Financial Advisors Inc

Key Points

• Northern Financial Advisors cut its Meta stake by 38.6% in Q4, leaving 1,584 shares worth about $1.05 million and making Meta 1.2% of its portfolio (22nd largest holding).
• Meta beat Q1 estimates with $10.44 EPS vs. $6.67 expected and $56.31 billion revenue (up 33.1% year‑over‑year), and Wall Street consensus remains positive with an average price target of about $840.67 and a "Moderate Buy" rating.
• Investor concerns include heavy insider selling (167,155 shares worth ~$107M in the last three months), a materially raised 2026 CapEx plan for AI data centers, ongoing Reality Labs losses, and regulatory/legal risks that have weighed on the stock.

Northern Financial Advisors Inc cut its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 38.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,584 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 996 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 1.2% of Northern Financial Advisors Inc's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Northern Financial Advisors Inc's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,046,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Key Capital Management INC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $48,000. Dorato Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $62,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 26.3% during the 4th quarter. PMV Capital Advisers LLC now owns 96 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 64.8% during the 3rd quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $760.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $840.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 629 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $670.84, for a total transaction of $421,958.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 2,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,591,232.48. This trade represents a 20.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $667.00, for a total value of $386,860.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,847 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,565,949. The trade was a 13.10% 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 three months, insiders have sold 167,155 shares of company stock valued at $107,067,129. Insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $608.74 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.54 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $629.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $648.40. The company has a quick ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. The business 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%.Meta Platforms's revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.43 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat & AI ad momentum — Meta reported robust Q1 revenue and EPS, and management highlighted AI-driven ad tools and full‑stack model+chip co‑design that are expanding ad automation and advertiser reach. Meta Does Things Their Own Way
• Positive Sentiment: Robotics/AI talent add — Meta acquired humanoid‑robot startup Assured Robot Intelligence to accelerate robotics model optimization, signaling product diversification in AI/robotics. WSJ: Meta Acquires Assured Robot Intelligence
• Positive Sentiment: Energy and creator initiatives — Meta is signing energy partnerships (space solar/long‑duration storage) to secure power for compute-heavy AI centers and piloting stablecoin creator payouts — moves that support long‑term AI scale and monetization. AI drives growth (context)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst reactions mixed — Some firms (e.g., Stifel) trimmed price targets but retained “buy”; others raised targets on longer‑term AI upside. These tweaks sustain divergent Wall Street views on valuation vs. heavy CapEx. Benzinga: Analyst Moves
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider sales disclosed — COO Javier Oliván sold shares under a Rule 10b5‑1 plan; routine but notable given market noise. SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Large CapEx raise spooks investors — Meta lifted 2026 capital expenditure guidance materially (now targeting major AI data‑center buildout), prompting concerns about near‑term free‑cash‑flow and returns; that is the primary reason the stock has been sold. Reuters: CapEx & market reaction
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/legal pressure — Threats to pull apps from New Mexico over child‑safety rules and US senators’ scrutiny over ad removals amplify litigation/compliance risk and potential costs. Reuters: Lawmaker Scrutiny
• Negative Sentiment: Reality Labs losses & deal setbacks — Continued multi‑billion losses in Reality Labs and a blocked Manus acquisition in China highlight near‑term cash drag and execution risks on speculative bets. CNBC: Reality Labs Loss

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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