Channel Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) by 42.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,020 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,402 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.3% of Channel Wealth LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Channel Wealth LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $5,294,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 36.8% during the 4th 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. Finally, Merrithew & Thorsten Inc acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several brokerages have recently weighed in on META. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $910.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $775.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 30th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $1,015.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $800.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $730.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. 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 MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $840.31.
Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms
Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Meta’s AI and advertising strategy still appears to be generating real business results, with one analysis pointing to strong ad impressions, higher ad prices, and continued revenue growth that could help justify its heavy capital spending. Meta’s Selloff Looks Like A Major Misread
- Positive Sentiment: Meta also announced new parental supervision tools across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and Horizon, which could support trust and platform engagement over time. Meta’s new tools allow parents to better supervise their kids’ social media accounts. Will they work?
- Positive Sentiment: Zefr said it is deepening its partnership with Meta by adding AI-powered pre-bid controls to Threads, a sign that advertisers continue building on Meta’s newer products. Zefr Deepens Meta Partnership, Bringing AI-Powered Pre-Bid Controls to Threads Feed
- Neutral Sentiment: Several hedge-fund filings showed mixed investor sentiment, with some managers adding to Meta while others trimmed stakes, offering no clear single-direction signal for the shares. Tiger Global boosts Meta Platforms stake by 336,249 shares
- Negative Sentiment: Meta is starting layoffs affecting about 8,000 employees, roughly 10% of its workforce, and expects the cuts to roll out in waves this week and possibly continue later in the year. Meta layoffs starting this week stress harsh AI reality inside Zuckerberg’s company
- Negative Sentiment: Reports that Meta is reorganizing 7,000 employees toward AI and telling workers to stay remote during the layoff process reinforce fears that rising AI investment is creating pressure on headcount and margins. Meta Reassigns 7,000 Employees to Focus on A.I.
- Negative Sentiment: Commentary around Meta’s “brutal” AI spending and large-scale job cuts is fueling concern that capital expenditures are getting too large before investors see enough return. Meta’s 8,000 Job Cuts To Foot The $145B AI Bill
Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.5%
NASDAQ:META opened at $611.21 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $621.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $638.95. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $796.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.55 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.25.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. The company had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The firm’s revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.43 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.65 EPS for the current year.
Insider Activity at Meta Platforms
In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total value of $36,471,323.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total value of $1,748,612.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 10,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,645,103.65. This trade represents a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 158,971 shares of company stock worth $101,676,729. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.
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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