Sequent Planning LLC Acquires 1,957 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Sequent Planning LLC increased its Meta Platforms stake by 297.4% in the fourth quarter, buying 1,957 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 2,615 shares worth about $1.73 million.
• Institutional ownership of Meta remains heavy, with several other hedge funds also adding positions and 79.91% of the stock now held by institutional investors.
• Meta continues to see mixed signals: analysts mostly rate the stock a Buy with a consensus price target of $840.19, while the company also faces insider selling and fresh legal scrutiny over social media addiction and scam ads.

Sequent Planning LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 297.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,615 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,957 shares during the quarter. Sequent Planning LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,726,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in META. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $20,230,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,537,000 after acquiring an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 294.7% in the 1st quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd now owns 150,000 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $86,454,000 after acquiring an additional 112,000 shares in the last quarter. Dymon Asia Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at $213,000. Finally, Capital & Planning LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth $322,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total value of $36,471,323.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total value of $1,748,612.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 10,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,645,103.65. This 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 three months, insiders have sold 95,471 shares of company stock valued at $60,616,955. 13.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched subscription plans for Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and AI users, opening a new recurring-revenue stream and giving investors a clearer path beyond ads. Meta launches Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp subscriptions, with more to come, including AI plans
• Positive Sentiment: Meta is also testing paid AI subscription tiers, signaling another monetization lever for its fast-growing AI products. Meta to start testing AI subscription services, with cheapest plan at $7.99 a month
• Positive Sentiment: CEO Mark Zuckerberg said a Meta cloud computing business is “definitely on the table” if the company ends up with excess data-center capacity, hinting at a possible long-term expansion into a large enterprise market. Mark Zuckerberg says a Meta cloud computing business 'definitely on the table'
• Positive Sentiment: Reports said Meta’s ad business remains strong, with AI features improving engagement and pricing power, reinforcing the company’s core earnings engine. META Rides on Solid Momentum in Ad Business: A Sign of More Upside?
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually heavy call-option buying suggests traders are positioning for more upside, but it does not by itself change fundamentals.
• Negative Sentiment: The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Meta’s appeal in a Vermont social-media addiction case, allowing a legal challenge over teen safety and app design to proceed. US Supreme Court won't hear Meta's challenge to Vermont social media addiction lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: Meta also faces fresh scrutiny from a Santa Clara County lawsuit alleging it profited from scam ads, adding to regulatory and legal overhangs. Santa Clara Lawsuit Tests Meta’s AI Ad Model And Governance Balance

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on META shares. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $1,015.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Argus reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $800.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $775.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 30th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $908.00 to $865.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Four research 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, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $840.19.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $635.26 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $796.25. The stock's fifty day moving average is $617.25 and its 200 day moving average is $636.82. The stock has a market cap of $1.61 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 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 earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The company had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.56 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.43 EPS. Meta Platforms's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.49 earnings per share for the current year.

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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