Fulton Bank N.A. Lowers Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Fulton Bank N.A. cut its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,615 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,131 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 1.1% of Fulton Bank N.A.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Fulton Bank N.A.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $32,030,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 608,429.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 59,766,000 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at approximately $23,155,393,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 73,443.1% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,417,003 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,212,506,000 after buying an additional 8,405,558 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $64,158,971,000 after buying an additional 1,650,435 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 192,591,101 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $142,149,566,000 after buying an additional 1,532,568 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $653.06 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $479.80 and a 52 week high of $796.25. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $641.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $703.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.65 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.29.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analysts’ expectations of $49.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $6.03 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $875.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 1st. Bank of America reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $810.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $825.00 price objective (down from $900.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $822.89.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $646.00, for a total transaction of $374,680.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,983,882. The trade was a 8.60% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 41,555 shares of company stock valued at $25,869,502 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Secured multi‑gigawatt nuclear power deals (Vistra, TerraPower, Oklo) to supply Meta’s Prometheus AI data center — long‑dated agreements help lock in reliable, low‑carbon capacity for heavy AI compute and reduce power‑supply risk for future growth. Meta strikes nuclear power agreements with three companies
• Positive Sentiment: Nuclear deals receive broad coverage (TechCrunch, Bloomberg) and have already lifted shares of partners (Oklo, Vistra) — a signal markets view the agreements as material to Meta’s AI infrastructure buildout and future margins. Meta signs deals with three nuclear companies for 6+ GW
• Positive Sentiment: Strong demand signals for Meta’s Ray‑Ban Display AI glasses — company paused international rollout because U.S. demand outstripped limited inventory, which supports upside for Reality Labs if Meta can scale production. Meta’s New AI Glasses See “Unprecedented Demand”
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst activity mixed but constructive: some price targets trimmed (Guggenheim lowered its target) yet many firms retain Buy/Outperform views given AI growth and healthy fundamentals — watch updates for guidance impact. Guggenheim price target note
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory risk in China — Beijing announced a probe/assessment of Meta’s ~$2B Manus acquisition to check export/security compliance; this creates near‑term transaction uncertainty and geopolitical headline risk. China to assess/investigate Manus deal
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: COO Javier Oliván disclosed small, regular share sales — routine but sometimes interpreted by market participants as a mild near‑term negative signal. SEC filing: Javier Oliván sale

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.