WestEnd Advisors LLC Sells 2,052 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• WestEnd Advisors trimmed its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.5% in Q4, selling 2,052 shares and retaining 57,371 shares valued at about $37.87 million.
• Analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $837.09, with recent targets from roughly $800 up to $1,015.
• Meta reported a strong quarter (EPS $8.88 vs. $8.16 est., revenue $59.89B, +23.8% y/y) and is benefiting from an AI-driven ad boom, but faces EU regulatory risk, a blocked China acquisition and notable insider selling (~165,600 shares worth ~$106M).

WestEnd Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 57,371 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 2,052 shares during the quarter. WestEnd Advisors LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $37,872,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of META. Westchester Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Key Capital Management INC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Dorato Capital Management bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $62,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 26.3% during the 4th quarter. PMV Capital Advisers LLC now owns 96 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 64.8% during the 3rd quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on META. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $930.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Argus reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $800.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $810.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Citizens Jmp reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $900.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $1,144.00 to $1,015.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $837.09.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $671.34 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month high of $796.25. The firm has a market cap of $1.70 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.57, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a 50 day moving average of $629.76 and a 200 day moving average of $648.51. The company has a quick ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $8.16 by $0.72. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The company had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $8.02 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is presently 8.94%.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI-driven ad boom supports revenue outlook — reports highlight that Meta is benefiting from AI automation that is boosting digital ad sales, a key fundamental underpinning for the stock. A.I. Helps Online Ad Businesses Boom
• Positive Sentiment: Muse Spark raises product-confidence — Meta’s new Muse Spark model shows promise and could help monetize AI beyond ads if management provides a credible commercial roadmap at earnings. Meta's new AI model shows early promise
• Positive Sentiment: Long-term infrastructure move — Meta agreed to reserve space-based solar capacity to power data centers, signaling long-horizon planning for AI capex and sustainability that supports the AI growth story. Meta Taps Space Based Solar To Power AI Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Concentrated “Mag‑7” earnings day increases volatility — Meta reports alongside other tech giants, making results/calls on AI monetization and CapEx the immediate driver of large stock moves. Traders are positioned for a big reaction to guidance and commentary. META, MSFT, AMZN, GOOG head for 'biggest earnings day'
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory/legal noise outside Europe — a U.S. probe into WhatsApp encryption reportedly closed, removing one overhang, but broader regulatory scrutiny remains. US agency shuts probe into WhatsApp encryption claims
• Negative Sentiment: EU charges under the Digital Services Act — the European Commission says Meta is failing to keep under‑13s off Facebook/Instagram and warned of major fines, creating regulatory, compliance cost and reputational risk in a key ad market. Meta Threatened With Major EU Fine
• Negative Sentiment: China blocks Manus acquisition and Meta may unwind the deal — Beijing’s decision to block the ~$2B Manus takeover forces write-offs, disrupts AI M&A strategy, and underscores geopolitical deal risk. Meta prepares to undo Manus acquisition after China ban
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst actions and reputational headwinds — Bank of America trimmed its price target and regulators/FTC data on social‑media scams highlight policy and trust issues that could pressure multiples. Bank of America Lowered Price Target on Meta

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total transaction of $1,748,612.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 10,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,645,103.65. The trade was a 20.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total transaction of $36,471,323.70. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 165,600 shares of company stock worth $106,023,973 in the last three months. Insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

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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