West Michigan Advisors LLC Buys 1,202 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• West Michigan Advisors LLC increased its stake in Meta by 34.1%, buying 1,202 shares to hold 4,729 shares worth about $3.12 million, while institutional investors now own roughly 79.9% of the stock.
• Meta reported a strong quarter—EPS of $10.44 vs. $6.67 expected and revenue of $56.31 billion (up 33.1% YoY)—and Wall Street consensus remains a "Moderate Buy" with a $840.67 price target.
• Key risks include Reality Labs' large losses (about $4B in Q1) and higher AI capex, a New Mexico youth‑harm trial that could force product changes, plus significant insider selling (~$106.7M in the last 90 days).

West Michigan Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 34.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,729 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,202 shares during the quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,121,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 34.2% in the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 52,252 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $38,373,000 after purchasing an additional 13,311 shares during the last quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.0% in the third quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,052 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $25,741,000 after buying an additional 1,657 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 84,059 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $55,487,000 after buying an additional 3,336 shares during the period. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 16.2% in the third quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC now owns 6,933 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,091,000 after buying an additional 968 shares during the period. Finally, Consolidated Investment Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 61.2% in the fourth quarter. Consolidated Investment Group LLC now owns 7,900 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,215,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.0%

NASDAQ META opened at $608.74 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $629.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $647.50. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $796.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.54 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The business had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.43 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 30.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.63%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 629 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $670.84, for a total transaction of $421,958.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 2,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,591,232.48. This trade represents a 20.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $667.00, for a total value of $386,860.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,847 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,565,949. This represents a 13.10% 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. Insiders have sold 166,638 shares of company stock valued at $106,697,681 in the last ninety days. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta acquired Assured Robot Intelligence (ARI), boosting its humanoid-robot/AI roadmap and signaling longer‑term product diversification beyond ads. Meta Acquires ARI to Fuel Humanoid Robot Push
• Positive Sentiment: Several brokers reiterated Buy/Outperform ratings (Guggenheim, Piper Sandler, RBC), citing strong ad revenue and AI-driven growth potential that supports medium‑term earnings upside. Analysts Reaffirm Buy Rating on Meta (META), Cite Growth and AI Potential
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional buying: Manning & Napier increased its stake, a sign some money managers view current levels as attractive. Manning & Napier Advisors Boosts Meta Platforms Stake 81K
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst price‑target moves: a number of firms trimmed targets (Stifel, UBS, Sanford C. Bernstein) but many kept Buy ratings — showing confidence in fundamentals but some caution on valuation and near‑term headwinds. Stifel Cuts META Price Target, Keeps Buy Rating
• Negative Sentiment: Legal risk escalated as New Mexico’s youth‑harm trial begins seeking court orders to force product changes across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp — a verdict or injunctive relief could impose operational constraints and remediation costs. New Mexico seeks changes to Meta platforms in youth harm trial
• Negative Sentiment: Reality Labs continues to post large losses (reported ~$4B Q1) and management raised 2026 capex guidance to accelerate AI infrastructure — investors worry lower near‑term returns and heavy AI spend will pressure margins and free cash flow. Meta’s Reality Labs reports $4B Q1 loss amid AI strategy shift
• Negative Sentiment: Negative media and market reaction: commentators (e.g., Jim Cramer) and coverage about CEO testimony logistics add to sentiment pressure, amplifying short‑term downside even as fundamentals are debated. Jim Cramer on Meta: “It’s Being Clubbed Like a Baby Seal”

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on META. Wall Street Zen raised Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $900.00 price target on Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Argus reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $800.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $885.00 to $820.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $840.67.

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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