Park Avenue Securities LLC Increases Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 17.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 98,390 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,858 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $72,255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in META. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at approximately $219,000. JTC Employer Solutions Trustee Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. JTC Employer Solutions Trustee Ltd now owns 4,080 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,996,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 430.9% during the 3rd quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 3,833 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,815,000 after acquiring an additional 3,111 shares during the last quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.1% in the third quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 5,497 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $4,037,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sather Financial Group Inc increased its position in Meta Platforms by 10.6% in the third quarter. Sather Financial Group Inc now owns 887 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $651,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $615.52 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $641.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $701.60. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $479.80 and a 52-week high of $796.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 1.98. The firm has a market capitalization 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 (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.35% and a net margin of 30.89%.The company had revenue of $51.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.03 EPS. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $905.00 to $875.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Citizens Jmp reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $900.00 price target (up previously from $750.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $750.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $840.00 to $810.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. 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 MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $822.96.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $18,876,738.02. This represents a 1.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $7,291,398. This represents a 4.43% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 40,571 shares of company stock valued at $25,137,541 in the last three months. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

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.