ProVise Management Group LLC Buys 2,116 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

ProVise Management Group LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 9.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,790 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,116 shares during the period. ProVise Management Group LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $15,704,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of META. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,650,435 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $28,823,375,000 after purchasing an additional 278,180 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,153,754 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $12,597,374,000 after purchasing an additional 142,229 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 558,792 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,619,341 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $10,001,772,000 after buying an additional 481,276 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on META. Argus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $800.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,015.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research 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 research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $910.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $840.31.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat and AI-driven ad pricing — Meta reported stronger-than-expected revenue and EPS, with AI-powered ad tools and pricing cited as driving high revenue growth and improved monetization, supporting upside case for ad margins and cash flow. Meta: Keep Calm And Focus On Muse, Spark And Record Revenue Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Expansion of teen-safety and age-verification tech — Meta announced it will roll out new AI safeguards for teens across 27 EU countries and to Facebook in the U.S., including visual AI checks to help flag under‑13 accounts; this may reduce regulatory pressure but could carry implementation costs and user-friction risk. Meta to expand teen safeguards to 27 EU countries, Facebook safeguards in June
• Neutral Sentiment: Product roadmap: advanced ‘agentic’ AI assistant — FT/Reuters report that Meta is building a highly personalized AI assistant that can act on users’ behalf. Positive for long-term engagement but highlights why investors are watching rising AI R&D and capex. Meta plans advanced ‘agentic’ AI assistant for users, FT reports
• Neutral Sentiment: Big capex and data‑center financing — Bloomberg/Reuters report Meta is lining up ~ $13B financing for an El Paso data center, underscoring heavy near‑term cash commitments that support growth but pressure free cash flow. Meta taps Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan for El Paso data center deal, Bloomberg News reports
• Negative Sentiment: New Mexico youth‑harm trial and potential remedies — State seeks sweeping changes and up to $3.7B plus injunction-style platform changes in ongoing trial alleging harm to children; a court order could force product changes and sizable remediation costs. New Mexico seeks changes to Meta platforms in youth harm trial
• Negative Sentiment: Major publishers sue over AI training — Large publishers (Elsevier, Macmillan, McGraw Hill, Hachette, etc.) filed copyright suits alleging Meta used books and journals to train Llama; litigation could lead to damages, injunctive relief or changes to data‑use practices. Major publishers sue Meta for copyright infringement over AI training
• Negative Sentiment: EU/Irish regulatory scrutiny — Ireland opened probes into Instagram/Facebook algorithmic personalization and Meta is contesting an EU order that could force rival AI chatbot access on WhatsApp; regulatory actions could impose operational constraints or fines. Ireland probles Meta’s Instagram, Facebook over EU manipulation concerns Meta seeks to fend off EU order to allow rival AI chatbots on WhatsApp at hearing
• Negative Sentiment: Reputational/legal fallout and shareholder scrutiny — Reuters won a Pulitzer on Meta investigations into harmful chatbots/fraudulent ads; law firms and shareholder groups are probing the board for oversight breaches, increasing litigation and governance risk. Reuters wins beat reporting Pulitzer for Meta investigations

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.9%

META opened at $604.96 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.53 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $796.25. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $628.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $646.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The company had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.43 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.63%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $631.24, for a total value of $5,106,100.36. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 2,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,793,352.84. This represents a 74.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction of $36,471,323.70. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 166,638 shares of company stock valued at $106,697,681. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.