Buttonwood Financial Advisors Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Buttonwood Financial Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,846 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 947 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 3.8% of Buttonwood Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Buttonwood Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $10,903,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 192,591,101 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $142,149,566,000 after purchasing an additional 1,532,568 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.9% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $64,158,971,000 after buying an additional 1,650,435 shares during the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 608,429.2% in the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 59,775,823 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $44,119,937,000 after buying an additional 59,766,000 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 51,575,209 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $37,902,948,000 after buying an additional 682,768 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at about $23,155,393,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $646.06 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.63 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.54, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $641.17 and a 200 day moving average of $703.93. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $479.80 and a 52 week high of $796.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.89% and a return on equity of 39.35%. The business had revenue of $51.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.03 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Guggenheim reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Benchmark lowered Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $815.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $860.00 to $808.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $840.00 to $810.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $822.89.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Strong demand for Meta’s new Ray‑Ban Display AI glasses suggests traction for Reality Labs hardware, which could help narrow losses if Meta scales production and sales. Meta’s New AI Glasses See “Unprecedented Demand”: What to Know
• Positive Sentiment: EU digital rule overhaul reportedly spares big tech from the strictest measures, reducing the probability of near‑term heavy regulatory constraints on Meta’s ad and platform businesses in Europe. Big Tech spared strict rules in EU digital rule overhaul, sources say
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary emphasizing Meta’s strong growth and profitability (Rule of 40) and continued AI investment supports a constructive longer‑term view, helping underpin the stock despite short‑term noise. Meta Platforms: Rule Of 40 Says Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta paused the international rollout of Ray‑Ban Display glasses to prioritize U.S. demand amid limited inventory — a mixed signal: strong U.S. uptake but delayed international revenue contribution. Meta delays Ray-Ban Display glasses global rollout due to inventory limits, U.S. demand
• Neutral Sentiment: Guggenheim trimmed its price target on META from $875 to $800 while keeping a Buy rating — slightly reduced upside in Street targets but still constructive from that analyst. Benzinga: Guggenheim lowers Meta price target
• Negative Sentiment: China’s Commerce Ministry said it will assess and investigate Meta’s acquisition of Manus for compliance with export and security rules — this raises the risk the deal could be blocked, delayed, or subject to conditions and is the primary near‑term negative catalyst for the stock. China to assess, investigate Meta’s acquisition of AI startup Manus
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: COO Javier Oliván disclosed a small sale of 517 shares (part of recurring small disposals), which can be perceived negatively by some investors even though the position remains substantial. SEC filing: Javier Oliván sale

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $650.41, for a total value of $336,261.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 11,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,598,740.03. This represents a 4.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $658.69, for a total value of $341,860.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 28,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,876,738.02. The trade was a 1.78% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 41,555 shares of company stock worth $25,869,502 over the last three months. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

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.