Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stock Position Raised by U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC

Key Points

• U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors raised its Meta stake by 25% in Q4, buying 9,281 shares to hold 46,419 shares worth $30.64 million, and institutional investors now own about 79.9% of the company.
• Strong quarterly results: Meta beat expectations with $8.88 EPS vs. $8.16 est. and revenue of $59.89 billion (up 23.8% year‑over‑year), leaving a $1.7 trillion market cap and a consensus analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $836.30.
• Mixed signals for investors: strategic positives like the Broadcom AI chip partnership and large data‑center investments are offset by notable insider selling (CTO/COO transactions and ~164,562 shares sold in the last 90 days) and reports of potential layoffs.

U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 25.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 46,419 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,281 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 0.8% of U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $30,641,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $64,158,971,000 after acquiring an additional 1,650,435 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 39,247,690 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $28,823,375,000 after buying an additional 278,180 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,153,754 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $12,597,374,000 after buying an additional 142,229 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,332,168 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $10,525,258,000 after buying an additional 558,792 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,619,341 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $10,001,772,000 after buying an additional 481,276 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $670.91 on Tuesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $479.80 and a 1-year high of $796.25. The company has a market cap of $1.70 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a 50-day moving average of $627.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $650.39.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $8.16 by $0.72. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The company had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $8.02 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.83 earnings per share 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 issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 8.94%.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and commentators see Meta’s expanding AI chip partnerships (notably with Broadcom) as a strategic move to reduce NVIDIA dependency and secure long‑term infrastructure control — a positive for margins and AI roadmap confidence. The Meta-Broadcom AI Chip Deal
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary (Zacks) highlights Broadcom’s expanded AI pact with Meta through 2029 as supportive for hyperscaler AI infrastructure demand and related ETFs, reinforcing the strategic value of Meta’s chip partnerships. Zacks Analyst Blog on Broadcom–Meta
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays and other sell‑side voices remain constructive (Barclays reaffirmed Buy with ~$800 target) after strong app download trends — evidence of continued user engagement and monetization upside. Meta Gets Analyst Approval After Record App Downloads
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America trimmed its price target from $885 to $820 but kept a Buy rating — a mixed signal: bullish stance intact, but the lower target suggests tempered near‑term upside assumptions (ad spending/valuation). BofA Trims Meta Price Target
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry chip developments — reports on other hyperscalers (e.g., Marvell/Google talks) and Meta’s custom silicon push show broader secular shift to in‑house AI hardware; positive long‑term but creates near‑term spending/transition noise. Marvell/Google Chip Talks
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta’s large new data center investments (highlighted in coverage) underpin demand for energy suppliers and show capital intensity that supports growth but also increases near‑term capital deployment. Meta's $27B Data Center Spotlight
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Meta is preparing layoffs (targeted around May 20) raise near‑term execution and morale concerns and may signal cost cuts that could affect product timelines and investor sentiment. Meta Prepares for "May 20" Layoffs
• Negative Sentiment: An insider (a Meta director) sold ~$386k of stock recently — a small amount in absolute terms but often read by markets as a near‑term negative signal when combined with other headwinds. Meta Director Stock Sale

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $631.24, for a total value of $5,106,100.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 2,841 shares in the company, valued at $1,793,352.84. This represents a 74.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total transaction of $1,748,612.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 10,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,645,103.65. This represents a 20.83% 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 164,562 shares of company stock worth $105,310,238. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on META. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Roth Mkm lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $860.00 target price (up from $750.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $836.30.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding META? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.