Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Grows Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 88,847 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 1,861 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $65,248,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in META. 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 last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.9% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $64,158,971,000 after acquiring an additional 1,650,435 shares in the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 59,766,000 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 51,575,209 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $37,902,948,000 after purchasing an additional 682,768 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $23,155,393,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.1%

NASDAQ:META opened at $620.25 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $479.80 and a 12-month 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. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $641.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $700.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.56 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.29.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $49.34 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.03 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on META shares. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. 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. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $810.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $822.96.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Deals that de‑risk Meta’s AI/data‑center power needs — Meta has signed prepayment/partnership agreements (e.g., Oklo) to secure long‑term baseload energy for its Prometheus supercluster and broader Meta Compute buildout, lowering a major execution risk for its massive data‑center plans. Oklo’s Meta Deal De-Risks the Story—Rebound Setup Emerging
• Positive Sentiment: BofA and other firms show constructive analyst interest — BofA reiterated/maintained a buy stance tied to Meta’s AI infra progress; Rosenblatt and some boutiques have also been positive recently, which can support sentiment if execution continues. BofA Securities Asserts Buy Stance
• Positive Sentiment: Hardware demand signal — reports say Meta is discussing doubling Ray‑Ban Meta glasses output, signaling potential early revenue diversification from AI wearables beyond advertising. Meta mulls doubling output of Ray‑Ban glasses
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta Compute initiative is long‑term strategic but capital intensive — the plan to build “tens/hundreds of gigawatts” of compute capacity underscores AI ambition (control and optionality) but raises timing and ROI questions for investors. Meta Compute: Inside Zuckerberg’s Massive Data Center Bet
• Neutral Sentiment: Wikipedia/API partnerships broaden AI training access — Meta joins others to formalize access to Wikipedia content for LLM training; strategic but not an immediate revenue driver. Wikipedia signs AI content training deals
• Neutral Sentiment: Near‑term catalyst: Q4/2025 earnings and 2026 guidance (scheduled Jan. 28) — results and explicit capex/FCF guidance will likely be the primary short‑term driver. Meta to Announce Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Results
• Negative Sentiment: Reality Labs headcount cuts (~1,000–1,500 jobs) signal a pullback in metaverse investment — while lowering costs, the layoffs underscore a strategic pivot (and product risk) away from VR, which can unsettle investors focused on long‑term innovation stories. Meta Cuts Reality Labs Jobs
• Negative Sentiment: Capex and free‑cash‑flow pressure — analysts and articles highlight materially higher 2026 capex and declining LTM FCF, which has prompted some downgrades and valuation concerns; that pressure can weigh on the stock until FCF trends stabilize. Meta Compute: Capex/FCF analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling / high‑profile sales — recent disclosures show COO Javier Olivan has sold blocks of shares; combined with other negative headlines this can amplify short‑term selling pressure. SEC filing: Olivan sale
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades and valuation skepticism — some firms have trimmed targets or expressed caution about the funding intensity and timing of AI monetization, which keeps shares vulnerable to multiple compression. Analyst downgrade reports

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $653.00, for a total value of $337,601.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $646.00, for a total transaction of $374,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,983,882. This trade represents a 8.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 40,571 shares of company stock worth $25,137,541. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.