Means Investment CO. Inc. Sells 1,146 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Means Investment CO. Inc. trimmed its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 30,327 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,146 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 1.9% of Means Investment CO. Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Means Investment CO. Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $22,272,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth $44,000. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at about $59,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $661.11, for a total value of $341,793.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 12,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,407,335.87. This represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $646.00, for a total transaction of $374,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,983,882. This represents a 8.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 10,478 shares of company stock valued at $6,799,696. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of META opened at $639.29 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.62 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.20, a PEG 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 stock’s 50 day moving average is $656.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $691.62. The company has a current ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced 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. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 30.08%.The firm had revenue of $59.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $8.02 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 8.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on META. Zacks Research lowered Meta Platforms from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $844.29.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta struck a multiyear deal to buy millions of Nvidia AI chips (GPUs and new standalone CPUs) to power its data‑center and AI stack, accelerating its ability to deploy large models and AI features across apps (WhatsApp cited). This reduces execution risk for Meta’s AI roadmap and supports revenue upside from AI-driven ad/product improvements. Nvidia to sell Meta millions of chips in multiyear deal
• Positive Sentiment: Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square has made a large, high‑profile investment in Meta, signaling smart‑money conviction that the stock is undervalued given its AI growth potential; this can lift investor sentiment and attract other institutional buyers. Meta’s Platforms’ New Bull: Why Billionaire Bill Ackman Is Buying
• Positive Sentiment: Supply‑chain/infra tailwind: reporting highlights a large Meta partnership with Corning (reported ~$6B deal to outfit data centers). That supports Meta’s capex plans for data‑center expansion and underpins investments tied to AI workloads. Corning’s Surprise AI Boom
• Neutral Sentiment: Third‑party ecosystem news: Virtuix announced its Omni One treadmill will be Made for Meta (Quest) certified, expanding XR ecosystem engagement — a positive for product stickiness but unlikely to move Meta’s top line materially near term. Virtuix Omni One to Launch Compatibility with Meta Quest Headsets
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/legal risk: Spain has asked prosecutors to probe X, Meta and TikTok over AI‑generated images allegedly involving minors, increasing legal/PR risk and potential compliance costs or fines tied to AI content moderation. That raises near‑term regulatory uncertainty for Meta’s platforms. Spain to Probe X, Meta, TikTok Over AI Images
• Negative Sentiment: Market/regulatory risk in India: Indian officials are discussing age‑based social‑media restrictions that could meaningfully affect user reach and ad monetization in one of Meta’s largest markets, increasing policy risk and potential future revenue impact. India discussing age-based restrictions with social media firms, top minister says

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.