Leuthold Group LLC Trims Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Leuthold Group LLC decreased its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 34.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 19,970 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 10,622 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.4% of Leuthold Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Leuthold Group LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $13,182,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vista Capital Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the second quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $794,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 2,001 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,321,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 984 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $649,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.9% in the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 539 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $396,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arcataur Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Arcataur Capital Management LLC now owns 1,736 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,146,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 10,557 shares in the company, valued at $6,645,103.65. The trade was a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the company’s 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 95,471 shares of company stock worth $60,616,955 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on META shares. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $808.00 to $890.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $935.00 to $945.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Argus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $800.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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 Stock Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $612.34 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $796.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.55 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.25. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $617.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $636.70. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.43 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.49 EPS for the current year.

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.