Gabelli Funds LLC Purchases 1,438 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Gabelli Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 171,409 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,438 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 0.8% of Gabelli Funds LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $113,145,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Requisite Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 174.1% during the 4th quarter. Requisite Capital Management LLC now owns 2,165 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,429,000 after purchasing an additional 1,375 shares during the last quarter. Passumpsic Savings Bank bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,851,000. North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,437,000. Rossmore Private Capital raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 63.0% during the 4th quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 8,585 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,667,000 after purchasing an additional 3,317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL now owns 4,262 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,813,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Arete Research reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $760.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,015.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $910.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $840.19.

Key Meta Platforms News

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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.55 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $617.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $636.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. The business had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.43 EPS. Analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $251,641.62. The trade was a 94.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 9,195 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total transaction of $5,589,088.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,014,978.24. This trade represents a 41.08% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 95,471 shares of company stock worth $60,616,955. 13.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Meta Platforms

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.