Chapman Investment Management LLC Raises Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Chapman Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2,402.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 9,859 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,465 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 5.2% of Chapman Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Chapman Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $7,240,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.4% in the second quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 3,506 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,587,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.6% in the second quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 2,223 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,641,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co of the South boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the third quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 1,850 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,359,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Sentinel Pension Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.6% in the third quarter. Sentinel Pension Advisors LLC now owns 915 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.3% in the third quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management now owns 4,301 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,159,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of META opened at $639.77 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.62 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $479.80 and a 12-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’s fifty day simple moving average is $657.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $693.34.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly 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. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The business had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $8.02 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be given 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 is Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.94%.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: High‑profile institutional support: Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square has taken a multi‑billion dollar stake, signaling confidence in Meta’s AI pivot and likely attracting other institutional interest. Ackman stake
• Positive Sentiment: Strong fundamentals and analyst upside: Q4 earnings beat and bullish analyst notes (multiple price‑target raises and buy reiterations) support a constructive medium‑term view. Seeking Alpha bullish note
• Positive Sentiment: Hardware and AI investments showing early traction: Ray‑Ban AI glasses sales growth and Reality Labs repositioning give optionality beyond ads. Ray‑Ban sales
• Neutral Sentiment: Dividend declared: Meta announced a $0.525 quarterly dividend (small yield) — positive for income investors but modest versus total return expectations. Dividend PR
• Neutral Sentiment: Large capex for AI: Meta broke ground on a ~$10B data‑center campus to boost AI compute — strengthens long‑term ad/AI moat but raises near‑term capex. Data center Reuters
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider/ownership moves mixed: CEO/COO small routine sales and some funds trimming while others add — notable but not a clear directional signal alone. SEC filing
• Negative Sentiment: Privacy and reputational risk from facial‑recognition plans for Ray‑Ban AI glasses: Reports that Meta plans a “Name Tag” feature have triggered renewed privacy concerns and could draw regulatory scrutiny or user backlash. NYT facial recognition
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/access hit: Russia moved to block WhatsApp for ~100M users, a material engagement loss in that market. WhatsApp block
• Negative Sentiment: Legal and litigation noise: Ongoing trials and witness testimony alleging platform harm raise litigation/ reputational risk that can pressure sentiment and potentially cost fines or operational changes. Trial coverage

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on META shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $825.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $872.00 target price (up from $830.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Erste Group Bank cut Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $810.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $845.50.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $591.60, for a total transaction of $307,040.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 34,631 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,487,699.60. This represents a 1.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $646.00, for a total value of $374,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,167 shares in the company, valued at $3,983,882. This represents a 8.60% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 23,413 shares of company stock worth $14,472,032 over the last quarter. 13.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.