ZEGA Investments LLC Purchases 8,804 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• ZEGA Investments LLC boosted its Meta stake by 199.9% in Q4, buying 8,804 shares to own 13,209 shares worth $8.72 million, representing about 1.0% of its portfolio and its 17th largest holding.
• Meta beat Q4 estimates with EPS of $8.88 (vs. $8.16 expected) and revenue of $59.89 billion (+23.8% YoY), and analysts hold a consensus "Moderate Buy" with a $837.09 target amid several recent target upgrades.
• Insider activity is notable: CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares and insiders sold 165,600 shares (~$106 million) in the past 90 days; the company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.525 ($2.10 annual, ~0.3% yield).

ZEGA Investments LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 199.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,209 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,804 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises about 1.0% of ZEGA Investments LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. ZEGA Investments LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $8,719,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.9% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $64,158,971,000 after acquiring an additional 1,650,435 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 39,247,690 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $28,823,375,000 after acquiring an additional 278,180 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,153,754 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $12,597,374,000 after purchasing an additional 142,229 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,332,168 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $10,525,258,000 after purchasing an additional 558,792 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,619,341 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $10,001,772,000 after purchasing an additional 481,276 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $678.62 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.72 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.31. 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 0.27, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a current ratio of 2.60. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $629.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $648.75.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.33 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $8.02 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.83 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm 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. 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 8.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on META. UBS Group lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $872.00 to $908.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Wolfe Research decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Roth Mkm reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $837.09.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $631.24, for a total value of $5,106,100.36. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 2,841 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,793,352.84. This represents a 74.01% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 165,600 shares of company stock worth $106,023,973. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI sector momentum from strong earnings this week could lift valuation multiples for big AI/advertising beneficiaries like Meta; investors are rotating into AI winners ahead of Magnificent Seven reports. Why This Week Could Be Huge For AI Stocks
• Positive Sentiment: Meta signed infrastructure deals that de‑risk long‑term power and networking needs for AI compute — notably a pact to source space‑based solar power for data centers, which supports future AI scale and operational margins. Meta partners with space startup Overview Energy to secure solar power for data centers
• Positive Sentiment: Operational partnerships — e.g., a multi‑year initiative with CBRE to train fiber technicians — help support Meta’s network rollout and capacity build for AI workloads, a longer‑term positive for execution. Meta Platforms (META) Partners With CBRE to Train Fiber Technicians
• Neutral Sentiment: Top AI talent leaving Big Tech to start new AI firms is bullish for the ecosystem but ambiguous for incumbent moats; could accelerate innovation that both helps and pressures Meta. Meta, Google, OpenAI among Big Tech firms seeing top staff leaving to launch AI startups
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts expect robust ad revenue growth but warn rising AI investment and Reality Labs losses could pressure margins; guidance and capex commentary around the next print will drive short‑term sentiment. Buy, Sell or Hold Meta Platforms Stock? Key Tips Ahead of Q1 Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: China’s decision to block Meta’s acquisition of AI startup Manus and instruct parties to unwind the deal is the largest near‑term negative — it threatens a ~$2B acquisition, signals heightened cross‑border tech scrutiny, and raises the political/regulatory risk premium on Meta’s AI deals and hires. Blocking of Meta's AI startup buy raises risk for cross-border China tech deals
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Meta is preparing to unwind the Manus purchase underscore the practical and financial disruption from the ban — potential write‑downs, legal/transaction costs, and slower access to talent/tech built around Manus. Meta prepares to undo Manus acquisition after China ban, WSJ reports
• Negative Sentiment: Market positioning and options activity create downside risk into earnings — some analysts warn stretched gains and elevated implied volatility could lead to a sharp pullback if guidance or margins disappoint. Meta's Stock May Plunge Following Results

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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