RIA Advisory Group LLC Sells 9,355 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

RIA Advisory Group LLC lessened its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 73.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,316 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 9,355 shares during the period. RIA Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,189,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Westchester Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Key Capital Management INC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 36.8% in the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 78 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Dorato Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $62,000. Finally, PMV Capital Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 26.3% in the 4th quarter. PMV Capital Advisers LLC now owns 96 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is expanding WhatsApp’s privacy tools with a new “incognito” mode for AI chats, which could help ease user concerns and support adoption of its AI features. Reuters article on WhatsApp incognito mode
• Positive Sentiment: The company also introduced more private messaging and sharing products, including an Instagram feature and additional AI privacy controls, which may help strengthen engagement and user trust over time. CNET article on Instagram Instants
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is reportedly preparing to monetize WhatsApp more aggressively through a premium subscription model, which could eventually add high-margin recurring revenue, but the financial impact is still speculative. Seeking Alpha article on WhatsApp Plus
• Negative Sentiment: Santa Clara County filed a lawsuit accusing Meta of profiting from scam ads on Facebook and Instagram, adding to concerns that the company may face restitution, damages, and stricter oversight of its ad systems. Business Wire article on Santa Clara County complaint
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported that Meta is challenging New Mexico’s proposed $3.7 billion remedy in the teen mental health trial, underscoring the scale of potential liabilities from social media-related lawsuits. Reuters article on New Mexico trial
• Negative Sentiment: Separate reports said Meta lost a court fight in Italy over paying publishers for news snippets, reinforcing that international regulation could create additional costs and legal pressure. Reuters article on Italian publishers ruling

Meta Platforms Trading Up 2.3%

Meta Platforms stock opened at $616.63 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $796.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.56 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.41, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $623.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $641.75.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 quarter last year, the company posted $6.43 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $760.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $850.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Citizens Jmp restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $900.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $840.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total transaction of $36,471,323.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $631.24, for a total value of $5,106,100.36. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 2,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,793,352.84. The trade was a 74.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 169,231 shares of company stock worth $108,239,954. Company insiders own 13.61% 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.