Florida Trust Wealth Management Co Acquires 2,603 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Florida Trust Wealth Management Co grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 41,676 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,603 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up about 0.9% of Florida Trust Wealth Management Co’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Florida Trust Wealth Management Co’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $30,606,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of META. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 237.5% during the second quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth approximately $42,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, WFA Asset Management Corp boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 42.6% in the second quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 67 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta will test paid premium subscriptions across Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp that unlock advanced AI and exclusive features — a potential new recurring-revenue stream and direct monetization of AI capabilities. Meta to test premium subscriptions
• Positive Sentiment: Rothschild & Co (Redburn) upgraded META to a “buy” and raised its price target to $900, a bullish analyst endorsement that supports upside sentiment. Analyst upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and commentators continue to highlight Meta’s large cash generation and shareholder returns (centuries of buybacks/dividends-equivalent commentary), underscoring capital return potential as a support for the stock. Shareholder returns article
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple firms trimmed price targets (Roth MKM, Raymond James, KeyCorp, Stifel) while many left buy/strong‑buy ratings intact — trimming near‑term upside expectations but not ending bullish views. Price target moves
• Neutral Sentiment: Q4 earnings and, importantly, 2026 expense/capex guidance are focal points this week — investors are positioning for details on AI infrastructure and Reality Labs spending that will drive near‑term volatility. Expense guidance focus
• Negative Sentiment: Meta temporarily blocked teens from interacting with some AI characters — a user‑experience/regulatory response that could limit engagement or product rollouts while safety policies are refined. Meta blocks teens from AI characters
• Negative Sentiment: Meta faces a high-profile trial this week over youth addiction claims alongside TikTok and YouTube, increasing legal and reputational risk that investors factor into valuation. Youth addiction trial
• Negative Sentiment: Countries are advancing restrictions on children’s social‑media use (e.g., Egypt exploring new limits), adding regulatory headwinds and potential regional usage impacts. Egypt social media restrictions
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing investor concern over hefty AI infra and Reality Labs capex — even as management trims headcount — keeps valuation sensitive to guidance and near‑term margin pressure. Capex fears / pre-earnings

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $815.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Meta Platforms from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $870.00 price target (down previously from $900.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $810.00 to $770.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $915.00 to $830.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $822.00.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $672.36 on Tuesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $479.80 and a twelve month high of $796.25. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $643.56 and its 200-day moving average is $696.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.69 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.70, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.29.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly 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. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.89% and a return on equity of 39.35%. The business 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 business posted $6.03 EPS. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 11,690 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.31, for a total transaction of $6,935,793.90. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 2,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,432,843.65. The trade was a 82.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.35, for a total value of $365,610.00. Following the sale, the director owned 7,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,476,894.45. This trade represents a 7.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 39,596 shares of company stock worth $24,277,237 in the last 90 days. 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.