Moran Wealth Management LLC Increases Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Moran Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,350 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 825 shares during the quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $23,023,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 237.5% in the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, WFA Asset Management Corp boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 42.6% during the 2nd quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 67 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $615.52 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $641.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $701.60. The firm has a market cap of $1.55 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.29. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $479.80 and a 1-year high of $796.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $51.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.89% and a return on equity of 39.35%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.03 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Big‑tech energy deals reduce a major execution risk for Meta’s AI/data‑center buildout — Meta signed prepayment/partner arrangements (e.g., Oklo) that de‑risk long‑term baseload power for its compute expansion, which supports the Meta Compute plan. Oklo’s Meta Deal De-Risks the Story—Rebound Setup Emerging
• Positive Sentiment: Additional nuclear partnerships (Terrapower reports) signal Meta is securing long‑term, reliable power — important as Meta scales “tens/hundreds of gigawatts” for AI. Bill Gates’ Terrapower to supply Meta Platforms with nuclear reactors
• Positive Sentiment: Demand signals for AI wearables: Meta and EssilorLuxottica are discussing ramping Ray‑Ban Meta smart glasses output, supporting the company’s pivot to AI devices and potential revenue diversification beyond advertising. Meta mulls doubling output of Ray-Ban glasses by year end
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst bullishness: a couple of firms reaffirmed/raised targets (Rosenblatt, TD Cowen), indicating upside expectation if Meta’s AI investments pay off.
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta Compute initiative outlines a massive data‑center/data‑power capex path to own AI infrastructure — strategically positive long term but increases near‑term capital intensity and execution risk. Meta Compute: Inside Zuckerberg’s Massive Data Center Bet
• Neutral Sentiment: Quarterly release scheduled after the close on Jan. 28 — upcoming results and guidance will be a key catalyst for the next leg of the stock’s move. Meta to Announce Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Results
• Negative Sentiment: Reality Labs layoffs (~1,500 jobs, ~10% of division) signal contraction of metaverse ambitions and larger restructuring; while this cuts costs, it raises near‑term execution and product risks for VR/metaverse roadmap. Meta Lays Off 1,500 People in Metaverse Division
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades and pessimistic forecasts (some outlets reporting cuts in sentiment and price targets) are pressuring the stock amid concerns about very large 2026 capex guidance and falling free‑cash‑flow. Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Meta Platforms
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: COO Javier Olivan disclosed a sale (~517 shares) which, paired with other negative headlines, can amplify short‑term selling pressure. SEC Filing: Javier Olivan sale
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/legal risks persist (e.g., Brazil/WhatsApp orders and appeals) that could add litigation or compliance costs in key markets. Meta, WhatsApp approach Supreme Court against NCLAT decision

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $653.00, for a total transaction of $337,601.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 11,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,291,398. This represents a 4.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $658.69, for a total transaction of $341,860.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 28,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,876,738.02. This trade represents a 1.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 40,571 shares of company stock valued at $25,137,541. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on META. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $840.00 to $810.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Monness Crespi & Hardt decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $860.00 to $808.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $900.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Wedbush reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $920.00 to $880.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Arete Research set a $718.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $822.96.

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.