Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stock Holdings Reduced by Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc.

Key Points

• Montrusco Bolton Investments cut its stake in Meta Platforms by 15.9% in Q4, selling 86,500 shares and ending the period with 457,439 shares worth $294.53 million; institutional investors own roughly 79.91% of the stock.
• Meta blew past Q1 estimates, reporting $10.44 EPS vs. $6.67 expected and $56.31 billion in revenue (up 33.1% year‑over‑year), and the analyst consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $840.31.
• Insiders have sold heavily—166,638 shares (~$106.7M) in the past three months, including CFO Susan Li's $36.5M sale—and the company faces rising legal and regulatory headwinds (publisher copyright suits, a New Mexico youth‑harm trial, and EU probes) that could raise costs or impose operational constraints.

Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. cut its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 15.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 457,439 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 86,500 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 3.7% of Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $294,530,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 34.2% in the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 52,252 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $38,373,000 after purchasing an additional 13,311 shares in the last quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,052 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $25,741,000 after purchasing an additional 1,657 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 84,059 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $55,487,000 after purchasing an additional 3,336 shares during the last quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC now owns 6,933 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,091,000 after purchasing an additional 968 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Consolidated Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. Consolidated Investment Group LLC now owns 7,900 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,215,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $908.00 to $865.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $800.00 target price (down from $880.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $900.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Evercore lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $840.31.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total transaction of $36,471,323.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $631.24, for a total transaction of $5,106,100.36. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 2,841 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,793,352.84. This trade represents a 74.01% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 166,638 shares of company stock valued at $106,697,681 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat and AI-driven ad pricing — Meta reported stronger-than-expected revenue and EPS, with AI-powered ad tools and pricing cited as driving high revenue growth and improved monetization, supporting upside case for ad margins and cash flow. Meta: Keep Calm And Focus On Muse, Spark And Record Revenue Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Expansion of teen-safety and age-verification tech — Meta announced it will roll out new AI safeguards for teens across 27 EU countries and to Facebook in the U.S., including visual AI checks to help flag under‑13 accounts; this may reduce regulatory pressure but could carry implementation costs and user-friction risk. Meta to expand teen safeguards to 27 EU countries, Facebook safeguards in June
• Neutral Sentiment: Product roadmap: advanced 'agentic' AI assistant — FT/Reuters report that Meta is building a highly personalized AI assistant that can act on users' behalf. Positive for long-term engagement but highlights why investors are watching rising AI R&D and capex. Meta plans advanced 'agentic' AI assistant for users, FT reports
• Neutral Sentiment: Big capex and data‑center financing — Bloomberg/Reuters report Meta is lining up ~ $13B financing for an El Paso data center, underscoring heavy near‑term cash commitments that support growth but pressure free cash flow. Meta taps Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan for El Paso data center deal, Bloomberg News reports
• Negative Sentiment: New Mexico youth‑harm trial and potential remedies — State seeks sweeping changes and up to $3.7B plus injunction-style platform changes in ongoing trial alleging harm to children; a court order could force product changes and sizable remediation costs. New Mexico seeks changes to Meta platforms in youth harm trial
• Negative Sentiment: Major publishers sue over AI training — Large publishers (Elsevier, Macmillan, McGraw Hill, Hachette, etc.) filed copyright suits alleging Meta used books and journals to train Llama; litigation could lead to damages, injunctive relief or changes to data‑use practices. Major publishers sue Meta for copyright infringement over AI training
• Negative Sentiment: EU/Irish regulatory scrutiny — Ireland opened probes into Instagram/Facebook algorithmic personalization and Meta is contesting an EU order that could force rival AI chatbot access on WhatsApp; regulatory actions could impose operational constraints or fines. Ireland probles Meta's Instagram, Facebook over EU manipulation concerns Meta seeks to fend off EU order to allow rival AI chatbots on WhatsApp at hearing
• Negative Sentiment: Reputational/legal fallout and shareholder scrutiny — Reuters won a Pulitzer on Meta investigations into harmful chatbots/fraudulent ads; law firms and shareholder groups are probing the board for oversight breaches, increasing litigation and governance risk. Reuters wins beat reporting Pulitzer for Meta investigations

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $604.96 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.53 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $628.61 and a 200-day moving average of $646.71. 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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The business had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.43 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.59 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

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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