Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by STF Management LP

STF Management LP lessened its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 60.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,845 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 7,423 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 3.0% of STF Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. STF Management LP’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,198,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aspire Growth Partners LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 29.8% in the 4th quarter. Aspire Growth Partners LLC now owns 811 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $536,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Guardian Capital LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,993,000. Chancellor Financial Group WB LP raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Chancellor Financial Group WB LP now owns 1,451 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $958,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. May Hill Capital LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 97.4% in the 4th quarter. May Hill Capital LLC now owns 10,746 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $7,093,000 after purchasing an additional 5,303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, John G Ullman & Associates Inc. raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 336 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $222,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.3%

NASDAQ META opened at $612.34 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $796.25. The company has a 50-day moving average of $617.09 and a 200-day moving average of $636.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The company has a market cap of $1.55 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the prior year, the company posted $6.43 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total transaction of $36,471,323.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 10,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,645,103.65. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 95,471 shares of company stock valued at $60,616,955 in the last 90 days. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on META. Arete Research reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. 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. Guggenheim cut 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 note on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $920.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $840.19.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Investors are viewing Meta’s massive AI spending more favorably as analysts and market commentators argue the AI boom could last longer than expected, potentially strengthening the company’s competitive position. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Several recent pieces continue to frame Meta as a top long-term growth stock and a stock drawing increased investor attention, which can help reinforce bullish sentiment around the name. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is making a major workforce reduction in Washington state as part of a broader AI-driven restructuring, which may improve efficiency over time but also signals a significant internal reset. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: The company is also getting additional investor and public scrutiny around AI, jobs, and capital allocation, with commentary suggesting the market is still debating whether Meta’s heavy AI investment will pay off. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: JLens is urging shareholders to back a proposal demanding more transparency on content moderation, highlighting ongoing governance and brand-safety concerns ahead of the annual meeting. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Meta’s challenge to Vermont’s social media addiction lawsuit, keeping legal exposure alive in a case centered on alleged harms to young users. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Meta also faces a new lawsuit from Santa Clara County over allegedly scam-related AI ads, adding another regulatory and reputational overhang tied to ad practices and user safety. Article Title

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.