Copeland Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 18,984 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,228 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $12,531,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of META. Westchester Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Key Capital Management INC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 36.8% in the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 78 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 64.8% in the third quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PMV Capital Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 26.3% in the fourth quarter. PMV Capital Advisers LLC now owns 96 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms
Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat and AI-driven ad pricing — Meta reported stronger-than-expected revenue and EPS, with AI-powered ad tools and pricing cited as driving high revenue growth and improved monetization, supporting upside case for ad margins and cash flow. Meta: Keep Calm And Focus On Muse, Spark And Record Revenue Growth
- Neutral Sentiment: Expansion of teen-safety and age-verification tech — Meta announced it will roll out new AI safeguards for teens across 27 EU countries and to Facebook in the U.S., including visual AI checks to help flag under?13 accounts; this may reduce regulatory pressure but could carry implementation costs and user-friction risk. Meta to expand teen safeguards to 27 EU countries, Facebook safeguards in June
- Neutral Sentiment: Product roadmap: advanced ‘agentic’ AI assistant — FT/Reuters report that Meta is building a highly personalized AI assistant that can act on users’ behalf. Positive for long-term engagement but highlights why investors are watching rising AI R&D and capex. Meta plans advanced ‘agentic’ AI assistant for users, FT reports
- Neutral Sentiment: Big capex and data?center financing — Bloomberg/Reuters report Meta is lining up ~ $13B financing for an El Paso data center, underscoring heavy near?term cash commitments that support growth but pressure free cash flow. Meta taps Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan for El Paso data center deal, Bloomberg News reports
- Negative Sentiment: New Mexico youth?harm trial and potential remedies — State seeks sweeping changes and up to $3.7B plus injunction-style platform changes in ongoing trial alleging harm to children; a court order could force product changes and sizable remediation costs. New Mexico seeks changes to Meta platforms in youth harm trial
- Negative Sentiment: Major publishers sue over AI training — Large publishers (Elsevier, Macmillan, McGraw Hill, Hachette, etc.) filed copyright suits alleging Meta used books and journals to train Llama; litigation could lead to damages, injunctive relief or changes to data?use practices. Major publishers sue Meta for copyright infringement over AI training
- Negative Sentiment: EU/Irish regulatory scrutiny — Ireland opened probes into Instagram/Facebook algorithmic personalization and Meta is contesting an EU order that could force rival AI chatbot access on WhatsApp; regulatory actions could impose operational constraints or fines. Ireland probles Meta’s Instagram, Facebook over EU manipulation concerns Meta seeks to fend off EU order to allow rival AI chatbots on WhatsApp at hearing
- Negative Sentiment: Reputational/legal fallout and shareholder scrutiny — Reuters won a Pulitzer on Meta investigations into harmful chatbots/fraudulent ads; law firms and shareholder groups are probing the board for oversight breaches, increasing litigation and governance risk. Reuters wins beat reporting Pulitzer for Meta investigations
Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.9%
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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.43 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.59 earnings per share for the current year.
Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared 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 was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 7.63%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
META has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Guggenheim dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Friday, March 27th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $800.00 price target (down from $880.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $840.31.
Read Our Latest Analysis on META
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the director owned 3,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,565,949. The trade was a 13.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 629 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $670.84, for a total value 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. The trade was a 20.96% 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 sold 166,638 shares of company stock valued at $106,697,681 in the last quarter. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
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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