Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Bought by Barings LLC

Barings LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 99.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,804 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 1,401 shares during the period. Barings LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,059,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Westchester Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, WFA Asset Management Corp grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 926 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $652.68, for a total transaction of $604,381.68. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 17,039 shares in the company, valued at $11,121,014.52. This represents a 5.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $631.24, for a total transaction of $5,106,100.36. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 2,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,793,352.84. This represents a 74.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 103,837 shares of company stock worth $66,356,760 in the last ninety days. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $657.01 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $656.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $686.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 2.60. The stock has a market cap of $1.66 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.96, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $479.80 and a 1-year high of $796.25.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Argus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $800.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $872.00 price objective (up from $830.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $785.00 to $820.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $844.44.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Major AMD GPU agreement strengthens Meta’s AI scale and supplier diversification, supporting long‑term ad/AI monetization potential even as it implies higher capital spending. META Taps AMD GPUs
• Positive Sentiment: Report that Meta will rent Google TPUs to accelerate model development gives the company faster access to compute and reduces dependence on any single vendor, aiding short‑term AI progress. Google signs multibillion-dollar AI chip deal with Meta
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s quarterly cash dividend ($0.525/share) adds a modest income component and can help stabilize the stock amid a heavy AI capex cycle. MarketBeat META overview
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is reportedly planning a stablecoin/payments pilot in H2 2026 — a long‑term monetization opportunity that could boost creator payouts and cross‑border settlement, but timing, partners and regulation remain key uncertainties. CoinDesk: Meta stablecoin plans
• Neutral Sentiment: Short interest in META declined meaningfully in February, reducing a potential downside crowd and making rallies easier to sustain (short‑covering risk lower).
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: CFO Susan Li reported large share sales (most recently disclosed Feb. 24 filing), and COO Javier Olivan sold shares — routine but can be interpreted negatively by some investors. SEC filing: Susan J. Li sale
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing litigation and regulatory scrutiny — high‑profile U.S. trial over alleged social‑media harm and EU antitrust disputes — keep headline risk and potential compliance costs elevated. Reuters: social‑media trial Reuters: EU court adviser on antitrust
• Negative Sentiment: AI talent movement (e.g., OpenAI hiring a Meta researcher) and high ongoing capex projections (guidance points to elevated 2026 spending) are reminders that competition for talent and costly infrastructure could pressure margins before long‑term gains materialize. Reuters: OpenAI hires Meta researcher

Meta Platforms 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.