J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Sells 18,315 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG cut its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 14.9% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 104,623 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 18,315 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 1.2% of J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $76,839,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth about $23,155,393,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 73,443.1% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,417,003 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,212,506,000 after acquiring an additional 8,405,558 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.9% during 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. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 192,591,101 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $142,149,566,000 after purchasing an additional 1,532,568 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 103.5% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,998,624 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,475,166,000 after purchasing an additional 1,016,667 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.35, for a total transaction of $365,610.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 7,347 shares in the company, valued at $4,476,894.45. This trade represents a 7.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,610 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Saturday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.46, for a total value of $1,590,690.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,962,956.64. This represents a 21.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 39,594 shares of company stock worth $24,325,407. Insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results and forward guide strengthened the bull case: Meta beat on revenue and EPS and its guidance prompted upgrades and bullish analyst notes, supporting near‑term upside. Meta Platforms Posted Its Fastest Growth Guide in Years—Now What?
• Positive Sentiment: AI monetization and user metrics are improving: Seeking Alpha highlights AI-driven ad redistributions (Lattice/GEM), daily active users up ~7% to 3.58B, ad impressions +18% and Reels watch time +30% — signals that AI is already boosting engagement and ad revenue. Meta: Buy The AI Revolution
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional support: Several funds have added to Meta (e.g., Davis Selected Advisers, Alecta), and brokers have raised targets or reiterated buys—helps sustain buying momentum after the beat. Alecta Pensionsforsakring, Omsesidigt boosts Meta Platforms stake
• Neutral Sentiment: CapEx is rising as Meta scales AI infrastructure: Meta guided to much higher 2026 capex (investing in MTIA and data centers) — strategic for growth but capital‑intensive; impact on margins depends on monetization pace. Soaring Hyperscaler CapEx Signals Good Things Ahead for Broadcom
• Neutral Sentiment: ESG / renewable moves: Meta expanded a PPA for the Skull Creek solar plant — supports sustainability goals but has no immediate revenue impact. Zelestra Expands Relationship with Meta in the US (Skull Creek PPA)
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: COO Javier Olivan disclosed multiple small sales (recently 517 shares), which is minor in size but can feed short‑term profit‑taking narratives. SEC Filing – Javier Olivan sale
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory risk in key markets: India’s top court questioned WhatsApp’s data‑sharing with Meta entities — any reimposed restrictions or fines could hurt growth/engagement in a large market. India’s top court questions WhatsApp data sharing
• Negative Sentiment: Cost and margin worries: Elevated AI and data‑center spending has investors debating trade‑off between near‑term margin pressure and long‑term gains; some profit‑taking followed the recent rally. Meta: Still A ‘Buy,’ But Nearing The End Of Its Run As Expenses Mount

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $670.21 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 2.60. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $656.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $695.54. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $479.80 and a one year high of $796.25. The firm has a market cap of $1.69 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.28.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.16 by $0.72. The company had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.33 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 30.08%.The company’s revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $8.02 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 8.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. KeyCorp cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $835.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $930.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Roth Mkm cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-one have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $848.50.

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.