Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stock Holdings Increased by L & S Advisors Inc

Key Points

• L & S Advisors Inc increased its Meta Platforms stake by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, buying 2,076 more shares and bringing its total to 30,445 shares worth about $20.1 million.
• Other institutions also added to or initiated positions in Meta, and hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock, showing continued strong institutional interest.
• Meta’s insider activity included recent share sales by CFO Susan J. Li and CTO Andrew Bosworth, while analysts still broadly rate the stock “Moderate Buy” with a consensus price target of $840.19.

L & S Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 7.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,445 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 2,076 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 1.8% of L & S Advisors Inc's holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. L & S Advisors Inc's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $20,097,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of META. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $20,230,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,537,000 after buying an additional 875 shares during the last quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 294.7% in the first quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd now owns 150,000 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $86,454,000 after buying an additional 112,000 shares during the last quarter. Dymon Asia Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at $213,000. Finally, Capital & Planning LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at $322,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the 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. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total transaction of $4,769,642.01. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 414 shares of the company's stock, valued at $251,641.62. This trade represents a 94.99% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 95,471 shares of company stock worth $60,616,955 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $775.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 30th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Arete Research reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Pivotal Research dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $930.00 to $910.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Four 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $840.19.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Investors are viewing Meta’s massive AI spending more favorably as analysts and market commentators argue the AI boom could last longer than expected, potentially strengthening the company’s competitive position. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Several recent pieces continue to frame Meta as a top long-term growth stock and a stock drawing increased investor attention, which can help reinforce bullish sentiment around the name. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is making a major workforce reduction in Washington state as part of a broader AI-driven restructuring, which may improve efficiency over time but also signals a significant internal reset. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: The company is also getting additional investor and public scrutiny around AI, jobs, and capital allocation, with commentary suggesting the market is still debating whether Meta’s heavy AI investment will pay off. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: JLens is urging shareholders to back a proposal demanding more transparency on content moderation, highlighting ongoing governance and brand-safety concerns ahead of the annual meeting. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Meta’s challenge to Vermont’s social media addiction lawsuit, keeping legal exposure alive in a case centered on alleged harms to young users. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Meta also faces a new lawsuit from Santa Clara County over allegedly scam-related AI ads, adding another regulatory and reputational overhang tied to ad practices and user safety. Article Title

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $612.34 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $796.25. The company has a market capitalization of $1.55 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a fifty day moving average of $617.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $636.70.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.43 earnings per share. Meta Platforms's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, 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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