Meta Platforms, Inc. $META is Country Trust Bank’s 10th Largest Position

Country Trust Bank decreased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 140,558 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 6,665 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 2.3% of Country Trust Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Country Trust Bank’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $103,223,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in META. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $20,230,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,537,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares during the last quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 294.7% in the 1st quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd now owns 150,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $86,454,000 after purchasing an additional 112,000 shares in the last quarter. Kooman & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Kooman & Associates now owns 544 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $402,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CGN Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.9% during the second quarter. CGN Advisors LLC now owns 9,615 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $7,097,000 after buying an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $658.76 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $479.80 and a 52 week high of $796.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market cap of $1.66 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $642.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $696.99.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.03 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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 $0.525 dividend. 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 is presently 9.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $875.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Benchmark downgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Arete Research set a $718.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $900.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $818.57.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Threads ad rollout expands immediate ad-monetization optionality for a 400M+ MAU product, supporting near-term revenue upside. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and investors point to attractive valuation after the pullback (multiple firms reiterating buys and high price targets), encouraging value-oriented buying. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Operational/tech progress: Meta’s AI lab reportedly delivered its first in-house models, a signal that internal AI capability is advancing and could support future product monetization and efficiency gains. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Hardware/metaverse upside: TD Cowen raised its PT and Meta plans to ramp Meta Glasses production, which supports longer-term diversification of revenue streams. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta suspended teen access to its AI characters globally while it builds a teen-specific version — a precautionary move that reduces regulatory/PR risk but could slow feature engagement and short-term monetization from those users. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming earnings (Jan. 28) and especially 2026 CapEx guidance are the primary near-term catalysts — strong revenue/AI updates could lift shares, while higher-than-expected CapEx would likely pressure the stock. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider activity: COO Javier Oliván’s routine share sales continue to be disclosed; amounts are modest relative to his holdings and the company, so impact is limited. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory risk: UK regulator Ofcom opened an investigation into Meta’s responsiveness on WhatsApp data requests, increasing compliance uncertainty in Europe. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Legal risk: Meta is contesting evidence limits ahead of a New Mexico child-safety trial — unfavorable rulings or negative publicity could weigh on sentiment. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst pressure: Some firms have trimmed price targets (Stifel cut its PT; UBS trimmed earlier), reflecting sensitivity to guidance and spending — these moves can cap near-term upside if guidance disappoints. Read More.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,875 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.46, for a total value of $4,190,037.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 88,370 shares in the company, valued at $53,857,980.20. This trade represents a 7.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,610 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.46, for a total transaction of $1,590,690.60. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 9,784 shares in the company, valued at $5,962,956.64. This represents a 21.06% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 40,632 shares of company stock worth $25,055,572 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

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.