Midwest Trust Co Acquires 3,961 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Midwest Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 134,652 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,961 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up 1.1% of Midwest Trust Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Midwest Trust Co’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $88,882,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bensler LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Bensler LLC now owns 15,386 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $10,156,000 after purchasing an additional 1,977 shares during the last quarter. Ebert Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $1,216,000. Pandora Wealth Inc. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Pandora Wealth Inc. now owns 18,171 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $11,994,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. JSF Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. JSF Financial LLC now owns 1,303 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $860,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WealthTrust Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. WealthTrust Asset Management LLC now owns 3,544 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,339,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on META. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $930.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Evercore lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Pivotal Research reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $930.00 to $910.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Four 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $840.31.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $602.61 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $620.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $637.91. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month high of $796.25. 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 capitalization of $1.52 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.43 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.65 EPS for the current year.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total value of $4,769,642.01. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 414 shares in the company, valued at $251,641.62. This represents a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,014,978.24. The trade was a 41.08% 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 a total of 171,517 shares of company stock worth $109,138,067 over the last quarter. 13.53% of the stock is currently 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.