Westover Capital Advisors LLC Has $6 Million Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Westover Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 12.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,083 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,018 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.1% of Westover Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Westover Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $5,996,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in META. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $20,230,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,537,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares during the period. Headwater Capital Co Ltd lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 294.7% in the first quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd now owns 150,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $86,454,000 after purchasing an additional 112,000 shares during the period. Dymon Asia Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth $213,000. Finally, Capital & Planning LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth $322,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META opened at $622.98 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $618.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $636.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.58 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $796.25. 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 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 firm had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 7.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $765.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $775.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Susquehanna raised shares of Meta Platforms from a “positive” rating to a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $750.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $840.60.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is pushing deeper into enterprise AI with a new Meta Business Agent for WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram, aimed at helping companies handle customer inquiries, recommendations, and bookings. Investors may see this as a new revenue stream beyond ads. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Meta also won a legal boost in Europe, with courts backing parts of its challenge to EU tech rules tied to Facebook Marketplace. That reduces some regulatory pressure and removes a potential overhang. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts remain constructive, with one firm upgrading Meta to strong-buy and others reiterating bullish views after the company’s commerce expansion and AI push. Finviz reference
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is being highlighted in broader AI-stock coverage as a cheaper-looking way to play the AI boom, which may keep buying interest elevated but is not a company-specific catalyst. Article reference
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta’s shares also received attention after a notable insider sale by the COO and a director, though the trades were made under pre-arranged plans and do not necessarily signal a change in fundamentals. SEC filing
• Negative Sentiment: Meta’s AI rollout has reportedly been delayed again, with the Muse Spark developer API still without a launch date. That raises concerns about how quickly Meta can monetize its heavy AI investment. Reuters article
• Negative Sentiment: A high-profile security lapse involving Meta’s AI chatbot, which was tricked into helping attackers access Instagram accounts, spotlighted risks around automation and could weigh on investor confidence. Reuters article
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is also fighting Australia’s proposed news-payment rules, a policy dispute that could create additional legal and regulatory uncertainty. Reuters article

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 837 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $629.29, for a total transaction of $526,715.73. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 12,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,171,959.94. This trade represents a 6.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total value of $5,589,088.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at $8,014,978.24. This trade represents a 41.08% 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 sold a total of 42,860 shares of company stock worth $26,555,260 over the last quarter. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

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.