Stonebridge Financial Group LLC MO Takes Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Stonebridge Financial Group LLC MO initiated a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter, buying 2,685 shares valued at about $1.77 million. The position accounts for roughly 1.5% of the firm’s holdings.
• Meta reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $10.44 per share versus $6.67 expected and revenue of $56.31 billion, up 33.1% year over year. Analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of about $840.19.
• Recent news around Meta highlights both growth initiatives and risks, including a new “Forum” app and a shift toward AI-focused layoffs, while legal pressure persists from a Texas lawsuit over privacy and encryption claims.

Stonebridge Financial Group LLC MO acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 2,685 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $1,772,000. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 1.5% of Stonebridge Financial Group LLC MO's holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 36.8% in the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 78 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merrithew & Thorsten Inc acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird increased 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. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $840.19.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $610.26 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $796.25. The company's 50-day moving average price is $617.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $637.00. 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 firm has a market cap of $1.54 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The firm 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 earned $6.43 EPS. The company's revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms 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 owned 14,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,933,071. This represents a 5.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 stock was 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 approximately $8,014,978.24. This represents a 41.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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. Insiders have sold a total of 152,728 shares of company stock valued at $96,925,217 in the last 90 days. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched a standalone “Forum” app for Facebook Groups, signaling a new product push that could deepen user engagement and add pressure to competitors like Reddit. Meta quietly launches a new Reddit-like app called Forum
• Positive Sentiment: Meta is cutting jobs and shifting resources toward AI, which investors may view as an efficiency move that supports long-term profit margins and keeps the company focused on its biggest growth area. Meta Cuts 8,000 Jobs, Boosts AI Team: What This Means for Employees
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta also settled a school-district lawsuit over alleged social media addiction harms, removing one legal overhang, though the broader regulatory and litigation risk around its platforms remains. Texas sues Meta, WhatsApp over encryption privacy claims
• Neutral Sentiment: Other headlines around Meta’s dual-class control structure, insider share sales, and broader AI spending debate are adding to the narrative, but they are less likely to drive the stock on their own than the new app launch and workforce reshaping.
• Negative Sentiment: The Texas attorney general’s lawsuit against Meta and WhatsApp over encryption and privacy claims adds another legal risk for investors to monitor. Google, Meta, TikTok face EU consumer complaints about handling of financial scams
• Negative Sentiment: Competition concerns are also in focus after Meta’s Forum app appeared to pressure Reddit shares, reinforcing worries that Meta’s scale lets it copy or crowd out rival social platforms.

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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