Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC Has $3.95 Million Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 20.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,987 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,027 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 2.8% of Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,952,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of META. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $132,015,115,000 after purchasing an additional 7,269,279 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of 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 worth $64,158,971,000 after acquiring an additional 1,650,435 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth $1,191,175,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $813,994,000. Finally, Concentrum Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 948.7% during the third quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management now owns 1,243,577 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $913,000 after acquiring an additional 1,124,998 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 837 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 14,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,933,071. The trade was a 5.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total value of $4,769,642.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $251,641.62. The trade was a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 sold a total of 95,471 shares of company stock valued at $60,616,955 over the last three months. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $612.34 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $796.25. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $617.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $636.70. The stock has a market cap of $1.55 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.25.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Bank of America dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $885.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Pivotal Research dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $930.00 to $910.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Four research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $840.19.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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 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.