Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Financial Advocates Investment Management

Financial Advocates Investment Management lessened its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,343 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 4,699 shares during the quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,721,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lafayette Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the third quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc. now owns 28,521 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $20,945,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares during the period. Columbia Bank increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Columbia Bank now owns 5,480 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,932,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth about $224,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 2.4% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 865,030 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $635,261,000 after purchasing an additional 20,084 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 53.3% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 1,001,068 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $735,164,000 after purchasing an additional 348,034 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of META stock opened at $644.78 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $479.80 and a twelve month high of $796.25. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $656.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $690.96. The stock has a market cap of $1.63 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.44, a PEG ratio of 1.10 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, beating the consensus estimate of $8.16 by $0.72. The company had revenue of $59.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.33 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 38.61%. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $8.02 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Meta Platforms from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. 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 note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $860.00 price target (up from $750.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently 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: Major NVIDIA multiyear deal — Meta signed a multigenerational agreement to buy millions of NVIDIA GPUs and adopt NVIDIA CPUs, networking and rack designs, strengthening its AI roadmap and securing long‑term supply for data‑center buildout. This deal underpins the rally as it reduces Meta’s hardware risk and accelerates product timelines. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Big investors leaning into the AI thesis — Reports (including 13F mentions) show some prominent funds increasing Meta exposure on the AI infrastructure/advertising opportunity, adding conviction to the upside. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Product roadmap shifts — Meta is refocusing Horizon Worlds toward mobile (less VR) and will shut down Messenger’s standalone website; these are strategic pivots that change execution risk but have limited immediate revenue impact. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling by senior executives — Multiple SEC filings show sizable recent sales by CFO Susan Li and COO Javier Olivan (and a director sale), which can create near‑term supply and market signaling concerns. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Staff equity cut to fund AI — Financial Times/Reuters report Meta trimmed annual equity awards by ~5% for most staff to reallocate dollars to AI buildout, highlighting cost tradeoffs and potential morale/retention implications. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Huge 2026 CapEx and margin risk — Coverage notes Meta’s elevated 2026 capex plan (reported guidance in the $115–$135B range) to build AI infrastructure; that spending fuels growth potential but increases short‑term margin and execution risk. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Legal/regulatory overhang — CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified in a landmark youth‑addiction trial that could influence future regulation, moderation costs, or advertising dynamics if outcomes impose new constraints. Read More.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $639.18, for a total transaction of $370,724.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,200,374.26. This represents a 10.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 629 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $639.18, for a total value of $402,044.22. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 2,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,880,467.56. The trade was a 17.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 20,738 shares of company stock worth $13,362,921 over the last quarter. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

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.