Strategic Planning Group LLC Increases Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Strategic Planning Group LLC increased its Meta Platforms stake by 10.3% in the fourth quarter, buying 2,847 additional shares and bringing its total to 30,396 shares valued at about $20.1 million.
• Meta continues to draw heavy institutional interest, with hedge funds and other investors owning 79.91% of the stock, even as several smaller firms recently initiated new positions.
• The article also highlights ongoing AI-driven restructuring at Meta, including about 8,000 layoffs and reassignment of workers into AI roles, while analysts remain generally bullish with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and an average price target of $840.19.

Strategic Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 10.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 30,396 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 2,847 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 2.6% of Strategic Planning Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Strategic Planning Group LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $20,065,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Key Capital Management INC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased 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 worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merrithew & Thorsten Inc bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $52,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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 Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $605.06 on Thursday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $619.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $637.47. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $520.26 and a 52-week high of $796.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35. The company has a market cap of $1.53 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.43 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on META. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $835.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Evercore lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Citizens Jmp restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $900.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $760.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $840.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total value of $5,589,088.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,014,978.24. This trade represents a 41.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total value of $4,769,642.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 414 shares of the company's stock, valued at $251,641.62. This represents a 94.99% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders have sold 171,517 shares of company stock worth $109,138,067. Insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

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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