HighPoint Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) by 20.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 61,057 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,307 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 1.9% of HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $40,303,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 34.2% in the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 52,252 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $38,373,000 after buying an additional 13,311 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 133,798 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $88,319,000 after buying an additional 18,169 shares in the last quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.0% in the third quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,052 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $25,741,000 after buying an additional 1,657 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 84,059 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $55,487,000 after buying an additional 3,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 16.2% in the third quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC now owns 6,933 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,091,000 after buying an additional 968 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Meta Platforms Price Performance
Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $607.38 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $618.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $637.18. 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 firm has a market cap of $1.54 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.25.
Meta Platforms News Roundup
Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Several bullish takes argue Meta is undervalued relative to its earnings power, with strong profitability, buybacks, and AI investments that could support long-term growth if the company’s spending translates into revenue. Meta Platforms: A Call Option On The AI Race
- Positive Sentiment: Meta’s AI and product rollout efforts remain active, including expanded AI features in WhatsApp and renewed focus on smart glasses, which reinforce its long-term AI and AR strategy. Meta Platforms, Inc. (META) Expands AI Private Chats and Renewable Energy Deals
- Positive Sentiment: Analysts still see upside, with Wells Fargo only slightly trimming its target while maintaining an Overweight rating, suggesting Wall Street remains constructive on Meta’s AI infrastructure bet. Wells Fargo Trims Meta Platforms Price Target to $765
- Neutral Sentiment: Meta settled the first U.S. school-district lawsuit tied to social media addiction, reducing legal overhang for now, though broader litigation risk remains unresolved. Meta settles first US case over school costs tied to youth mental health
- Neutral Sentiment: CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he does not expect more companywide layoffs this year, which may calm employees but is unlikely to materially change the stock’s near-term outlook. Exclusive: Meta CEO tells employees he does not expect more company-wide layoffs this year
- Neutral Sentiment: Meta also continues to see insider sales and debate around layoffs, but those moves were largely tied to pre-arranged tax-withholding plans and are less likely to be a major market signal. Susan Li Sells 2,127 Shares of Meta Platforms
- Negative Sentiment: Meta’s biggest drag remains its aggressive AI spending, with 2026 capex guidance still extremely high and investors questioning whether layoffs will generate enough savings to offset that bill. Meta Platforms 10% Layoff Raises a Bigger Question About AI Spending
- Negative Sentiment: The company’s 10% workforce reduction and related restructuring have raised concerns about morale, execution risk, and whether management is cutting costs fast enough to support AI investments. Meta Begins Laying Off Thousands of Employees as It Transforms Around AI
- Negative Sentiment: Meta is also facing fresh regulatory and legal scrutiny, including EU complaints over handling financial scams and ongoing criticism tied to youth mental-health lawsuits. Google, Meta, TikTok face EU consumer complaints about handling of financial scams
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 13th. The stock was 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $251,641.62. This represents a 94.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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 have sold a total of 152,728 shares of company stock valued at $96,925,217 in the last quarter. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research firms have recently issued reports on META. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $808.00 to $890.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wolfe Research lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Erste Group Bank lowered Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $835.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $775.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $840.19.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Meta Platforms
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.
Further Reading
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- Silicon Shake-Up: The AI Trade Is Moving Beyond NVIDIA
- The Silver Lining of Last Week’s Hims & Hers Earnings Miss
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding META? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report).
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