Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stake Lifted by Narwhal Capital Management

Narwhal Capital Management raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,141 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,152 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 2.8% of Narwhal Capital Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Narwhal Capital Management’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $37,557,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. 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 acquiring an additional 1,532,568 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position 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 valued at $64,158,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,650,435 shares during the period. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 608,429.2% in the 2nd quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 59,775,823 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $44,119,937,000 after purchasing an additional 59,766,000 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 51,575,209 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $37,902,948,000 after purchasing an additional 682,768 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the second 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 Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $620.25 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $479.80 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25. The company has a market cap of $1.56 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.29. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $641.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $700.09.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $51.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.89% and a return on equity of 39.35%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $646.00, for a total value of $374,680.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,983,882. This represents a 8.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $653.00, for a total value of $337,601.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 11,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,291,398. The trade was a 4.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 40,571 shares of company stock worth $25,137,541. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $840.00 to $810.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $950.00 to $910.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $802.00 to $795.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $870.00 price objective (down previously from $900.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Four 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.