Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp Increases Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp increased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 92,782 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 2,232 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 1.1% of Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $61,245,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased 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 worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, Merrithew & Thorsten Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $52,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on META. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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 report on Thursday, January 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Argus restated a “buy” rating and set a $800.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $900.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $840.19.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 10,557 shares of the company’s stock, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total value of $4,769,642.01. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $251,641.62. This represents a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders sold 152,728 shares of company stock valued at $96,925,217 over the last ninety days. 13.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.5%

NASDAQ:META opened at $610.26 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $796.25. The company’s 50 day moving average is $617.68 and its 200-day moving average is $637.00. The firm has a market cap of $1.54 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.43 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.49 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched a standalone “Forum” app for Facebook Groups, signaling a new product push that could deepen user engagement and add pressure to competitors like Reddit. Meta quietly launches a new Reddit-like app called Forum
• Positive Sentiment: Meta is cutting jobs and shifting resources toward AI, which investors may view as an efficiency move that supports long-term profit margins and keeps the company focused on its biggest growth area. Meta Cuts 8,000 Jobs, Boosts AI Team: What This Means for Employees
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta also settled a school-district lawsuit over alleged social media addiction harms, removing one legal overhang, though the broader regulatory and litigation risk around its platforms remains. Texas sues Meta, WhatsApp over encryption privacy claims
• Neutral Sentiment: Other headlines around Meta’s dual-class control structure, insider share sales, and broader AI spending debate are adding to the narrative, but they are less likely to drive the stock on their own than the new app launch and workforce reshaping.
• Negative Sentiment: The Texas attorney general’s lawsuit against Meta and WhatsApp over encryption and privacy claims adds another legal risk for investors to monitor. Google, Meta, TikTok face EU consumer complaints about handling of financial scams
• Negative Sentiment: Competition concerns are also in focus after Meta’s Forum app appeared to pressure Reddit shares, reinforcing worries that Meta’s scale lets it copy or crowd out rival social platforms.

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.