Ritholtz Wealth Management Purchases 4,424 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its Meta Platforms stake by 12.1% in the first quarter, buying 4,424 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 41,026 shares valued at about $23.5 million.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on Meta despite some target cuts: the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $840.60, and 34 analysts still rate it a Buy.
• Meta reported strong first-quarter results, beating EPS estimates by a wide margin with $10.44 per share on revenue of $56.31 billion, while also paying a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share.

Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 12.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 41,026 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,424 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $23,472,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. First National Bank Sioux Falls lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 2,001 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,321,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 984 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $649,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. Vista Capital Partners Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $794,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. Arcataur Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Arcataur Capital Management LLC now owns 1,736 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,146,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acorn Creek Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC now owns 2,118 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,398,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $775.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 30th. Arete Research set a $735.00 price objective on Meta Platforms and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Wolfe Research dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $750.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $840.60.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META stock opened at $550.25 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $612.28 and a 200-day moving average of $630.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.39 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $796.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The business had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.43 EPS. Meta Platforms's revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 140 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total value of $84,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 12,846 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,707,600. This trade represents a 1.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 504 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $629.29, for a total value of $317,162.16. Following the sale, the director owned 3,943 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,481,290.47. This trade represents a 11.33% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 39,013 shares of company stock worth $24,115,999. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush’s Dan Ives said Meta is being treated like a “bear market” stock despite its central role in the AI buildout, arguing the recent selloff is more about short-term impatience than a broken AI thesis.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary said Meta’s AI push is driving revenue growth, stronger ad engagement, and rising user activity, supporting the case for further upside.
• Positive Sentiment: Qualcomm’s new AI data-center push and partnerships with Meta and Microsoft reinforce Meta’s role in major AI infrastructure deals, which may support long-term growth expectations. Qualcomm stock jumps on AI data center push, Meta and Microsoft deals
• Positive Sentiment: One article framed Meta as one of the most attractive mega-cap tech names after the 2026 selloff, suggesting the stock could have meaningful recovery potential from current levels.
• Neutral Sentiment: Mark Zuckerberg is reportedly pushing Meta to explore working with prediction-market platforms Polymarket and Kalshi as part of an Arena app aimed at younger users, which could expand engagement but is still early-stage. Mark Zuckerberg Urges Meta to Explore Working With Polymarket and Kalshi
• Neutral Sentiment: Consumer-sentiment commentary said Meta continues to keep users on its platforms longer, but investor sentiment remains weighed down by AI spending concerns. Ca$htag$: Is META Winning Over Consumers?
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is facing fresh legal and reputational pressure after Sarah Wynn-Williams accused the company of surveilling her to silence criticism, adding to headline risk around the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple reports continue to highlight investor concern that Meta’s aggressive AI infrastructure spending is compressing near-term cash flow, which has been a major factor behind the stock’s weakness.

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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