Nicholas Company Inc. Buys 19,370 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Nicholas Company Inc. increased its Meta Platforms stake by 19.4% in the fourth quarter, adding 19,370 shares and bringing its total to 119,410 shares worth about $78.8 million.
• Institutional ownership of Meta remains very high, with several large investors like Vanguard and State Street also adding shares; overall, institutions own about 79.91% of the stock.
• Recent headlines highlight Meta’s AI-driven restructuring, including about 8,000 job cuts and reassignment of workers into AI roles, which may pressure near-term profits even as analysts stay broadly constructive on the stock.

Nicholas Company Inc. grew its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 19.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 119,410 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 19,370 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 1.4% of Nicholas Company Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Nicholas Company Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $78,821,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in META. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $132,015,115,000 after purchasing an additional 7,269,279 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in 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 worth $64,158,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,650,435 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth $1,191,175,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $813,994,000. Finally, Concentrum Wealth Management raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 948.7% in the 3rd quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management now owns 1,243,577 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $913,000 after purchasing an additional 1,124,998 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Negative Sentiment: Meta began cutting about 8,000 jobs, or roughly 10% of its workforce, as part of a broader AI-first restructuring. Investors may view the move as evidence that the company needs to offset rising AI investment costs, which could weigh on near-term profitability. Meta Begins Laying Off Thousands of Employees as It Transforms Around AI
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple reports say Meta tied the layoffs to funding its AI push, reinforcing worries that aggressive investment in AI could pressure earnings and cash flow before the benefits show up. Zuckerberg says 'success isn't a given' in memo to employees amid Meta layoffs
• Negative Sentiment: Management’s decision to reassign about 7,000 workers into AI-related roles while cutting headcount highlights the scale of the internal overhaul and may keep morale and execution risks in focus. Meta Moves 7,000 Workers Into AI Roles Ahead of Job Cuts
• Negative Sentiment: Meta’s CFO, Susan Li, sold shares in a pre-arranged transaction, which can add to short-term caution even though the sale was reportedly for tax withholding purposes. Meta Platforms NASDAQ: META CFO Susan Li Sells 2,127 Shares
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta also offered rival AI chatbots limited free access to WhatsApp in Europe, a move that could support platform usage but does not yet have a clear near-term financial impact. Exclusive: Meta offers AI rival chatbots limited free WhatsApp access, sources say
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts remain generally constructive on Meta’s long-term earnings power, with Wells Fargo only slightly trimming its price target while keeping an Overweight rating. Wells Fargo Trims Meta Platforms Price Target to $765: Why the AI Infrastructure Bet Still Has Believers

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $605.06 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $796.25. The company's 50-day moving average is $619.50 and its 200 day moving average is $637.47. The company has a market capitalization of $1.53 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.43 EPS. Meta Platforms's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $810.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $775.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Arete Research reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Friday, March 27th. 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $840.19.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 837 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.35, for a total transaction of $510,025.95. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 14,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,933,071. This represents a 5.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total transaction of $5,589,088.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at $8,014,978.24. This trade represents a 41.08% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 171,517 shares of company stock valued at $109,138,067. 13.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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