New Hampshire Trust Sells 1,350 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• New Hampshire Trust cut its Meta stake by 15.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 1,350 shares and leaving it with 7,417 shares valued at about $4.9 million.
• Meta reported strong first-quarter results, with EPS of $10.44 versus the $6.67 consensus and revenue rising 33.1% year over year to $56.31 billion.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish on Meta despite some concerns about heavy AI spending, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and average price target of $840.31.

New Hampshire Trust reduced its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 15.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,417 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 1,350 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 1.0% of New Hampshire Trust's portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. New Hampshire Trust's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $4,896,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wheelhouse Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 30.8% during the 4th quarter. Wheelhouse Advisory Group LLC now owns 539 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $360,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 55.2% in the fourth quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,375 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $6,188,000 after buying an additional 3,335 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 91,868 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $60,642,000 after acquiring an additional 7,459 shares during the last quarter. S.A. Mason LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 24.0% during the 4th quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 2,315 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,528,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alexis Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $847,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts remain bullish on Meta Platforms, with recent notes from firms like BofA and Erste Group lifting earnings estimates or price targets after strong Q1 results, reinforcing expectations for meaningful upside. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s AI push is drawing attention as the company reportedly works on AI agents and improved models like Muse Spark, which could support new products and future monetization opportunities. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary pieces continue to frame Meta as an important AI and large-cap tech name, but these are mostly opinion-driven and do not add new fundamental information for the stock. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta was also mentioned in a deal roundup about acquiring Assured Robot Intelligence, but the report provided little detail, so the market impact is unclear. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Reports highlighting employee dissatisfaction and impending layoffs suggest Meta’s AI transformation is creating internal friction, while also reminding investors that the company’s AI ambitions come with higher costs. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concern remains centered on Meta’s enormous 2026 capex plan, estimated at $125 billion to $145 billion, which is fueling fears that profitability could come under pressure before AI investments pay off. Article Title

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on META. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $765.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Evercore lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $840.31.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $667.00, for a total transaction of $386,860.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,847 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,565,949. This trade represents a 13.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 926 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.74, for a total transaction of $562,767.24. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 7,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,727,609.46. This trade represents a 10.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 168,193 shares of company stock valued at $107,642,717. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.2%

META stock opened at $609.63 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.54 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 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. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month high of $796.25. The stock's 50 day moving average is $627.67 and its 200-day moving average is $645.30.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.43 earnings per share. Meta Platforms's revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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