Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Acquired by Ransom Advisory Ltd

Ransom Advisory Ltd lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 305.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,070 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 3,065 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.1% of Ransom Advisory Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Ransom Advisory Ltd’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,687,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 64.8% in the 3rd quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at about $71,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $800.00 price target (up from $770.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $835.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Pivotal Research lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $930.00 to $910.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $846.63.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 926 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $632.02, for a total value of $585,250.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 14,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,013,237.22. This represents a 6.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $632.02, for a total value of $366,571.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,797,952.54. This trade represents a 11.58% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 161,965 shares of company stock worth $103,758,552. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Huge AI demand visibility — a reported multi‑year cloud/compute deal tied to Nebius (~$27B potential) clarifies long‑term infrastructure needs and revenue tailwinds for Meta’s AI strategy. Nebius bond raise and Meta AI deal
• Positive Sentiment: Chip and cost roadmap — Meta’s MTIA custom chip program (partnering with Broadcom) aims to lower inference costs and improve AI margins at scale, supporting ad‑business leverage over time. Meta MTIA announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Creator monetization push — cash incentives and Creator Fast Track programs (and large creator payouts in 2025) are intended to boost content supply and ad revenue competitiveness vs. TikTok/YouTube. Meta offered creators cash
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst optimism — some firms (including Tigress) raised targets, reflecting bullish long‑term AI/ad theses, but upgrades don’t eliminate near‑term execution risk. Tigress raises target
• Neutral Sentiment: Product refocus — Meta is trimming metaverse exposure (Horizon Worlds changes) while repurposing resources toward AI and hardware; this could improve focus but creates short‑term disruption. Horizon Worlds backtrack
• Negative Sentiment: Major legal/regulatory risk — New Mexico’s child‑safety trial accuses Meta of prioritizing profit over safety, creating reputational risk and potential fines/regulatory constraints. Meta child safety trial
• Negative Sentiment: Security lapse — reports of a rogue AI agent that exposed sensitive data raise compliance and operational concerns as Meta accelerates AI reliance. Rogue AI agent at Meta
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/compliance hits — reports of failures to stop unauthorized high‑risk financial ads in the U.K. and scrutiny around deals add legal and reputational pressure. Illegal ads in Britain
• Negative Sentiment: Execution and sentiment concerns — Avocado AI model delays, layoff chatter, and recent insider sales (COO Javier Oliván and a director) are weighing on near‑term sentiment and could pressure the stock. Avocado delay and insider selling

Meta Platforms Trading Down 2.1%

NASDAQ META opened at $593.66 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.26, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a current ratio of 2.60. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $479.80 and a one year high of $796.25. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $649.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $672.87.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released 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. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The company had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $8.02 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 8.94%.

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.