Independent Advisor Alliance Has $66.97 Million Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 91,187 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,285 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 1.7% of Independent Advisor Alliance’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $66,966,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,000. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 42.6% during the 2nd quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 67 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Big-capex boost: Meta’s plan to spend up to $135 billion in 2026 continues to be a major positive catalyst for investors who view it as funding AI, data centers and long‑term growth — the announcement previously drove a large share pop and is supporting bullish sentiment. META Pops 10% on $135b Capex Announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional support: Diamond Hill Capital increased its stake, a signal that some money managers remain confident in Meta’s fundamentals and long‑run thesis. Institutional buying can underpin the stock even amid headline noise. Diamond Hill boosts stake
• Neutral Sentiment: AI/data center progress & deal activity: Reporting indicates an AI/data‑center deal is advancing while related corporate developments proceed — commercially positive but still distant from immediate revenue recognition. Child safety lawsuit proceeds as AI data center deal advances
• Neutral Sentiment: Reality Labs repositioning: Meta’s CTO called cuts to Reality Labs “a real cause for sadness” but reiterated the company remains bullish on VR — suggests management is reallocating capital toward higher‑growth AI and data infrastructure. Meta CTO on Reality Labs cuts
• Negative Sentiment: EU antitrust escalation: The European Commission has sent a statement of objections and signaled it may impose interim measures to stop Meta from blocking rival AI assistants on WhatsApp — a material regulatory risk that could weaken Meta’s AI distribution advantages in Europe and force product changes or fines. Meta has publicly criticised the move, but the threat of fast interim remedies increases near‑term uncertainty. EU threatens Meta with interim measure
• Negative Sentiment: Legal exposure in U.S. trials: Opening arguments began in high‑profile cases (New Mexico, LA) alleging addictive design and child‑safety failures; unsealed researcher documents alleging large numbers of exploited minors amplify reputational and litigation risk and could lead to damages or stricter regulation. These proceedings keep downside risk elevated for investors. Meta and YouTube Created ‘Digital Casinos,’ Lawyers Argue

Meta Platforms Trading Up 2.4%

META opened at $677.37 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $657.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $694.73. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $479.80 and a twelve month high of $796.25. The company has a quick ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.71 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.28.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid 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 of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of Meta Platforms 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 directly owned 5,587 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,454,330.36. The trade was a 9.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $658.69, for a total transaction of $341,860.11. Following the transaction, the insider owned 28,658 shares in the company, valued at $18,876,738.02. This represents a 1.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,561 shares of company stock worth $23,673,584. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on META. Benchmark cut shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $900.00 target price (up previously from $870.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 29th. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 price target for the company. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $800.00 price target (up previously from $770.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $910.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $847.40.

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.