Stephens Inc. AR Acquires 2,367 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Stephens Inc. AR increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 93,334 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,367 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 0.8% of Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $61,673,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Kropog Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 37.7% during the fourth quarter. Kropog Financial Group LLC now owns 522 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $345,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. DNB Asset Management AS lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 58.5% during the fourth quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 1,893,140 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,249,643,000 after acquiring an additional 698,838 shares during the period. Richard Young Associates Ltd. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $551,000. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 147.1% during the fourth quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 100,400 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $66,273,000 after acquiring an additional 59,770 shares during the period. Finally, ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $118,325,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on META. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $765.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $885.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Pivotal Research lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $930.00 to $910.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $840.19.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $610.26 on Tuesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $796.25. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $617.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $636.87. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a market cap of $1.54 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.18, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. The company had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.43 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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 Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total value of $5,589,088.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,014,978.24. This trade represents a 41.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 837 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.35, for a total value of $510,025.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 14,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,933,071. This trade represents a 5.40% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 95,471 shares of company stock worth $60,616,955 in the last ninety days. 13.53% of the stock is owned by company 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.