Core Alternative Capital Has $2.39 Million Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Core Alternative Capital increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 40.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,617 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,038 shares during the quarter. Core Alternative Capital’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,388,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $132,015,115,000 after acquiring an additional 7,269,279 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 39,247,690 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $28,823,375,000 after acquiring an additional 278,180 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake 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 valued at $12,597,374,000 after acquiring an additional 142,229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.1% in the third 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 acquiring an additional 558,792 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of Meta Platforms 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total transaction of $1,748,612.10. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 10,557 shares in the company, valued at $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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 169,231 shares of company stock valued at $108,239,954. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of META stock opened at $616.63 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $796.25. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $623.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $641.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.56 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.43 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.65 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is expanding WhatsApp’s privacy tools with a new “incognito” mode for AI chats, which could help ease user concerns and support adoption of its AI features. Reuters article on WhatsApp incognito mode
• Positive Sentiment: The company also introduced more private messaging and sharing products, including an Instagram feature and additional AI privacy controls, which may help strengthen engagement and user trust over time. CNET article on Instagram Instants
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is reportedly preparing to monetize WhatsApp more aggressively through a premium subscription model, which could eventually add high-margin recurring revenue, but the financial impact is still speculative. Seeking Alpha article on WhatsApp Plus
• Negative Sentiment: Santa Clara County filed a lawsuit accusing Meta of profiting from scam ads on Facebook and Instagram, adding to concerns that the company may face restitution, damages, and stricter oversight of its ad systems. Business Wire article on Santa Clara County complaint
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported that Meta is challenging New Mexico’s proposed $3.7 billion remedy in the teen mental health trial, underscoring the scale of potential liabilities from social media-related lawsuits. Reuters article on New Mexico trial
• Negative Sentiment: Separate reports said Meta lost a court fight in Italy over paying publishers for news snippets, reinforcing that international regulation could create additional costs and legal pressure. Reuters article on Italian publishers ruling

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson lifted 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. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $908.00 to $865.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Guggenheim 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 note on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $810.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Evercore lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $840.31.

About Meta Platforms

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.