1,263 Shares in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Purchased by Lawood & Co.

Lawood & Co. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 1,263 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 454 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $334,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls increased its position in Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 2,001 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,321,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 984 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $649,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $794,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 539 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $396,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is being viewed as an early leader in the AI trade, with recent commentary arguing the market may be underestimating how much AI could boost the company’s long-term earnings and valuation. The AI Trade Might Be Grossly Underestimated — and It Could Be Time To Rethink How We View the Mag 7
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s AI strategy is getting more attention, including reporting on CTO Andrew Bosworth’s push to use AI to reshape the workforce and improve efficiency, which could support margins over time. Meet Mark Zuckerberg’s Right-Hand Man Who’s Unleashing AI at Meta
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain bullish on Meta Platforms despite recent volatility, reinforcing confidence that the company’s ad business and AI investments can continue driving upside. Wall Street analysts predict Meta stock price for the next 12 months
• Positive Sentiment: Meta is expanding its AI ecosystem through a $125 million UCLA semiconductor hub with partners including Broadcom and Synopsys, which could help strengthen long-term AI infrastructure and talent development. Meta, Broadcom And Others Launch $125 Million UCLA AI Chip Hub
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage about a potential AI “sidekick” or digital twin for Mark Zuckerberg adds to the company’s AI narrative, but it is more of a concept story than a confirmed business catalyst. Mark Zuckerberg May Already Have an AI Agent Sidekick — Could This Be the Future for CEOs?
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta’s expanding use of WhatsApp in government services in Gujarat is a positive adoption signal, but the direct financial impact is still unclear. Gujarat moves to WhatsApp governance, signs MoU with Meta Platforms
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is also dealing with scrutiny over the environmental impact of its data centers, after lawmakers raised concerns about water usage and called for an EPA probe, which could create regulatory and reputational pressure. AOC Raises Concerns Over Meta Data Center Water Impact

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on META. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $800.00 price objective (down from $880.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $775.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $900.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $840.19.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $610.26 on Tuesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $796.25. The company has a 50 day moving average of $617.12 and a 200-day moving average of $636.87. 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 stock has a market cap of $1.54 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.43 EPS. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.49 earnings per share for the current year.

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.