Petredis Investment Advisors LLC Sells 1,192 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Petredis Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,613 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,192 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 2.4% of Petredis Investment Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $30,109,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of META. Trust Co of the South boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 1,850 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,359,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Sentinel Pension Advisors LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.6% in the third quarter. Sentinel Pension Advisors LLC now owns 915 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $672,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management raised its position in Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the third quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management now owns 4,301 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,159,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 454 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vista Capital Partners Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the second quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $794,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley kept Meta as a top pick despite trimming its price target to $775, signaling continued conviction in the company’s long‑term AI and ad recovery story. Morgan Stanley trims PT
• Positive Sentiment: Meta is building an elite AI lab for its recommendations division and deploying AI to accelerate risk reviews — moves that should improve product relevancy, ad monetization, and safety over time. Business Insider: AI lab
• Positive Sentiment: Product updates (new Ray‑Ban prescription smart glasses) expand hardware monetization optionality and signal progress in Reality Labs consumer offerings. MSN: Ray‑Ban glasses
• Neutral Sentiment: China’s commerce ministry said it supports law‑abiding transnational tech deals amid reports of a review of a Meta transaction — a stabilizing comment for deal risk but not a definitive clearance. Reuters: China supports deals
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo cut Meta’s price target sharply to $765 (from $856) though it kept an Overweight rating — the sizable PT cut reinforces near‑term sentiment weakness despite a positive medium‑term view; Wells Fargo highlighted upcoming earnings as a potential catalyst. Invezz: Wells Fargo PT cut
• Negative Sentiment: Erste Group downgraded META from Buy to Hold, adding to analyst caution and likely contributing to selling pressure. Finviz: Erste downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Recent legal losses (New Mexico civil penalties and a “bellwether” California jury verdict) are the largest near‑term overhang — they raise the risk of follow‑on suits, potential billings for damages/legal fees, and political/regulatory scrutiny that could materially affect sentiment and valuation. MarketBeat: legal losses analysis

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $574.46 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $639.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $662.03. The stock has a market cap of $1.45 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.31. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $479.80 and a 52-week high of $796.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a current ratio of 2.60.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.16 by $0.72. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The company had revenue of $59.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $8.02 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 8.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total value of $36,471,323.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 926 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $605.38, for a total value of $560,581.88. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 13,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,072,742.30. This trade represents a 6.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 161,448 shares of company stock worth $103,333,788. Insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on META. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Arete Research reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $810.00 to $885.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $900.00 target price on Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $843.57.

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.