Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Holdings Lowered by Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC

Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 154,671 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,352 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 5.5% of Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC’s holdings, making the stock its largest position. Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $113,587,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $20,230,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,537,000 after buying an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 294.7% in the first quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd now owns 150,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $86,454,000 after acquiring an additional 112,000 shares during the period. Kooman & Associates grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Axis Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.3% during the 2nd quarter. Axis Wealth Partners LLC now owns 695 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $513,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of META opened at $658.76 on Monday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $479.80 and a 52-week high of $796.25. The stock has a market cap of $1.66 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $642.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $696.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $51.24 billion during 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $6.03 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Key Meta Platforms News

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 Activity

In related news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $618.28, for a total value of $358,602.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 5,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,454,330.36. This trade represents a 9.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $658.69, for a total value of $341,860.11. Following the transaction, the insider owned 28,658 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,876,738.02. The trade was a 1.78% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 40,115 shares of company stock worth $24,668,044 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $810.00 to $770.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $840.00 to $810.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $800.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $818.57.

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.