Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 6.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,390 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,515 shares during the period. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $15,439,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth $26,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Key Capital Management INC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $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 period. Finally, Merrithew & Thorsten Inc bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $52,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $602.61 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $620.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $637.91. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $796.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.52 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 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 quarterly earnings data 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. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.56 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Negative Sentiment: Meta began laying off about 8,000 employees, or roughly 10% of its workforce, as part of a broader AI-first transformation. The move highlights rising restructuring costs and suggests more cuts could follow later this year. Meta Begins Laying Off 8,000 Employees Amid A.I. Transformation
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Meta is cutting jobs while ramping up AI investment have kept attention on margin pressure and the scale of the company’s AI spending bill, which some investors view as a near-term drag on earnings. Meta Moves 7,000 Workers Into AI Roles Ahead of Job Cuts
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta offered rival AI chatbot makers limited free access to WhatsApp in Europe before charging once usage limits are reached. The move could support platform engagement and developer adoption, but the financial impact is still unclear. Exclusive: Meta offers AI rival chatbots limited free WhatsApp access, sources say
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta also drew attention for new AI-related product and safety initiatives, including an incognito chat feature for WhatsApp’s AI assistant and new parental supervision tools, but these are not likely to move the stock in the near term. Meta Platforms (META) Launching Incognito Chat for WhatsApp AI Assistant

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $775.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 30th. Raymond James Financial decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $800.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 26th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $835.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $725.00 price target (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $840.31.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was 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 available through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 10,557 shares in the company, valued at $6,645,103.65. This trade represents a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 171,517 shares of company stock valued at $109,138,067. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by 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.