Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC Buys 11,325 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC boosted its Meta Platforms stake by 137.9% in the fourth quarter, buying 11,325 additional shares to bring its total to 19,540 shares valued at about $12.9 million.
• Meta’s latest earnings came in well above expectations, with Q1 EPS of $10.44 versus the $6.67 consensus and revenue up 33.1% year over year to $56.31 billion.
• Despite strong fundamentals and generally bullish analyst ratings, Meta is facing regulatory and legal pressure, including a lawsuit over scam ads and a court loss in Europe related to publisher compensation.

Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 137.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,540 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,325 shares during the quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $12,898,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Key Capital Management INC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 36.8% in the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 78 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Dorato Capital Management bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, PMV Capital Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 26.3% in the 4th quarter. PMV Capital Advisers LLC now owns 96 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: One bullish analysis argues Meta is attractively priced for a recession scenario, citing 33% year-over-year revenue growth, strong operating margins, and the potential for long-term margin expansion as AI investments drive efficiency. Why Meta Is My Top Pick: Priced For A Recession With Massive Upside
• Positive Sentiment: Meta is testing deeper AI integration in Threads, which could improve engagement and strengthen its product ecosystem over time. Threads tests a Meta AI integration that works similarly to Grok
• Positive Sentiment: Meta offered rival AI chatbots temporary free access to WhatsApp as part of talks with EU antitrust regulators, suggesting the company is actively trying to reduce regulatory friction in Europe. Meta offers rival AI chatbots free access to WhatsApp month
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles discuss Meta’s role in the broader attention economy and compare its platform model with earlier media strategies, but these are not immediate stock catalysts. Ted Turner built the original infinite scroll
• Negative Sentiment: Santa Clara County filed a lawsuit accusing Meta of profiting from scam ads on Facebook and Instagram, adding to concerns about ad quality, moderation, and legal exposure. California county sues Meta over scam ads
• Negative Sentiment: Meta also lost a court fight in Europe over compensation for Italian publishers, reinforcing ongoing regulatory and content-rights risks. Meta loses court fight over compensation to Italian publishers
• Negative Sentiment: Fresh reports and lawsuits alleging scam ads targeting seniors, along with investigations into Meta’s board oversight and privacy/AI practices, could keep sentiment under pressure if they broaden. Meta Faces Fresh Controversy Over Facebook Scam Ads

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on META shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $850.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $808.00 to $890.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $840.31.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $603.00 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $796.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.53 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.92, a PEG ratio of 1.05 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. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $624.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $642.58.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. The company had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The firm's revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.43 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th were paid 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 dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is 7.63%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $631.24, for a total transaction of $5,106,100.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 2,841 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,793,352.84. The trade was a 74.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total value of $1,748,612.10. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 10,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,645,103.65. This trade represents a 20.83% 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 ninety days, insiders sold 167,676 shares of company stock worth $107,299,848. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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