Moran Wealth Management LLC Buys 2,738 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Moran Wealth Management LLC raised its Meta stake by 8.7% in Q4, buying 2,738 shares to hold 34,088 shares worth about $22.5 million.
• Company insiders have been net sellers—including CTO Andrew Bosworth and CFO Susan J. Li—with a total of 165,600 shares sold (~$106.0M) over the last 90 days, though insiders still own 13.61% of Meta.
• Meta beat Q1 expectations ($8.88 EPS on $59.89B revenue, +23.8% YoY) and benefits from an AI-driven ad thesis and infrastructure partnerships, but risks include China vetoing the ~$2B Manus deal and potential margin/volatility pressures; consensus rating is "Moderate Buy" with a $837.09 average price target.

Moran Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 8.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,088 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,738 shares during the quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $22,501,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of META. State Street Corp increased its position in Meta Platforms by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $64,158,971,000 after buying an additional 1,650,435 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its position in Meta Platforms by 0.7% during 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 during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 0.8% during 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 during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in Meta Platforms by 4.1% during 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 during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Meta Platforms by 3.7% during 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 during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $631.24, for a total value of $5,106,100.36. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 2,841 shares in the company, valued at $1,793,352.84. The trade was a 74.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total value of $36,471,323.70. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 165,600 shares of company stock worth $106,023,973 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $678.62 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a current ratio of 2.60. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $796.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.72 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.88, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.31. The stock's fifty day moving average is $629.12 and its 200 day moving average is $648.75.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $8.16 by $0.72. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 30.08%.The company had revenue of $59.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $58.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $8.02 earnings per share. Meta Platforms's revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.83 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th were given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 8.94%.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI-driven ad thesis and upbeat Q1 outlook — analysts and bullish commentators say Meta’s ad revenue is being re-accelerated by AI improvements, and some expect another beat-and-raise around the April 29 results, supporting upside for shares. Meta Q1: AI Ad Thesis Getting Stronger
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic infrastructure partnerships — Meta signed a pact with Overview Energy for space-based solar to power data centers (longer-term operational/energy advantage) and a multi-year partnership with CBRE to train fiber technicians, both reinforcing infrastructure and cost/scale plans. Meta partners with space startup Overview Energy to secure solar power for data centers Meta Platforms (META) Partners With CBRE to Train Fiber Technicians
• Positive Sentiment: Commercial AI partnerships with cloud providers — broader coverage of AI partnerships (including reports that AWS and others are working with AI players) underscores demand for Meta’s AI-driven products and ad monetization potential. Amazon Is About to Report Q1 Earnings. Do Options Traders Expect a Major Move in AMZN Stock?
• Neutral Sentiment: Big Tech earnings theme — the upcoming Magnificent Seven reports (including Meta) are being framed around AI monetization and cloud demand; this macro narrative can lift or pressure META depending on actual ad/cloud signals. Big Tech faces key earnings test on AI spending and cloud growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional interest — Meta appears on several “top buy” lists and remains heavily held by hedge funds, which supports liquidity but can increase volatility around earnings. 5 Best Big Name Stocks to Buy
• Negative Sentiment: China blocks Manus acquisition — Beijing ordered Meta to unwind its ~$2B purchase of Manus, a setback for Meta’s agentic-AI capability buildout and a reminder of geopolitical risk in cross-border AI deals; this is the biggest immediate negative catalyst. China vetoes Meta's $2B Manus deal after months-long probe
• Negative Sentiment: Options/volatility and margin concerns — some observers warn that heavy bullish options positioning and rising AI-related spending (Reality Labs and infra/CapEx) leave META exposed to a post-earnings volatility collapse or margin-pressure-driven pullback. Meta's Stock May Plunge Following Results Buy, Sell or Hold Meta Platforms Stock? Key Tips Ahead of Q1 Earnings

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Wolfe Research lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $900.00 price objective on Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $855.00 to $760.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $837.09.

Meta Platforms Company 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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