Chase Investment Counsel Corp Decreases Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Chase Investment Counsel Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 52.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,960 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 8,714 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.5% of Chase Investment Counsel Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Chase Investment Counsel Corp’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $5,254,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. First National Bank Sioux Falls boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 2,001 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,321,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 984 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $649,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $794,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 539 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $396,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arcataur Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Arcataur Capital Management LLC now owns 1,736 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,146,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on META shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Citizens Jmp reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $900.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $730.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. 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, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $840.19.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total transaction of $4,769,642.01. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $251,641.62. This trade represents a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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, 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 transaction of $36,471,323.70. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 95,471 shares of company stock valued at $60,616,955. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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 Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $612.34 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $796.25. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $617.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $636.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.55 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.26, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The business had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.43 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.