Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Midwest Trust Co

Midwest Trust Co trimmed its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 130,691 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 999 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 1.2% of Midwest Trust Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Midwest Trust Co’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $95,977,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goldstone Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 44.4% during the 3rd quarter. Goldstone Financial Group LLC now owns 3,752 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,756,000 after buying an additional 1,153 shares during the last quarter. CW Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 27.8% during the second quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 176,762 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $130,467,000 after acquiring an additional 38,432 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 34.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 52,252 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $38,373,000 after acquiring an additional 13,311 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 11.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 210,526 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $155,387,000 after purchasing an additional 20,912 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 84,687 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $62,507,000 after purchasing an additional 4,473 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms 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 transaction of $341,793.87. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 12,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,407,335.87. This represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $624.14, for a total value of $323,928.66. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 31,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,506,247.42. The trade was a 1.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 10,478 shares of company stock worth $6,799,696. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $800.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Wedbush lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, November 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META stock opened at $639.29 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $1.62 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.20, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $656.74 and a 200-day moving average of $691.62. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $479.80 and a 12-month high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.16 by $0.72. The firm had revenue of $59.89 billion during 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%.Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $8.02 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

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.