Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Position Boosted by GCQ FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY Ltd

GCQ FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 14.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 39,388 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 4,867 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 3.6% of GCQ FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. GCQ FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY Ltd’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $26,000,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of 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. First National Bank Sioux Falls boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 2,001 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,321,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 984 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $649,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $794,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.9% during the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 539 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total value of $1,748,612.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 10,557 shares in the company, valued at $6,645,103.65. The trade was a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total value of $36,471,323.70. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 171,517 shares of company stock worth $109,138,067 over the last quarter. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Negative Sentiment: Meta began laying off about 8,000 employees, or roughly 10% of its workforce, as part of a broader AI-first transformation. The move highlights rising restructuring costs and suggests more cuts could follow later this year. Meta Begins Laying Off 8,000 Employees Amid A.I. Transformation
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Meta is cutting jobs while ramping up AI investment have kept attention on margin pressure and the scale of the company’s AI spending bill, which some investors view as a near-term drag on earnings. Meta Moves 7,000 Workers Into AI Roles Ahead of Job Cuts
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta offered rival AI chatbot makers limited free access to WhatsApp in Europe before charging once usage limits are reached. The move could support platform engagement and developer adoption, but the financial impact is still unclear. Exclusive: Meta offers AI rival chatbots limited free WhatsApp access, sources say
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta also drew attention for new AI-related product and safety initiatives, including an incognito chat feature for WhatsApp’s AI assistant and new parental supervision tools, but these are not likely to move the stock in the near term. Meta Platforms (META) Launching Incognito Chat for WhatsApp AI Assistant

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.4%

Meta Platforms stock opened at $602.61 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $620.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $637.91. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $796.25. The company has a market capitalization of $1.52 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the topic of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $850.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $935.00 to $945.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $765.00 to $770.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $840.31.

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.