Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Sells 29,520 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 33.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 59,327 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 29,520 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $39,161,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in META. Peak Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $612,000. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 80.7% in the fourth quarter. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,653 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,091,000 after purchasing an additional 738 shares in the last quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 10,628 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $7,015,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. now owns 1,396 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $921,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Paragon Advisors LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Paragon Advisors LLC now owns 10,692 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $7,058,000 after purchasing an additional 667 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total transaction of $36,471,323.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,461 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Sunday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $639.77, for a total value of $1,574,473.97. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 12,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,746,335.16. The trade was a 16.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 161,967 shares of company stock worth $103,675,648 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on META. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $840.00 to $880.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, December 29th. 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 research report on Thursday, January 29th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $850.00 price target (up from $800.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $810.00 to $885.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $846.63.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Entergy revised its Louisiana data-center deal with Meta so Meta will pay full cost-of-service and fund local energy upgrades (including seven natural‑gas plants), reducing project/regulatory risk for the hyperscale build. Entergy revised Meta data-center deal (Reuters)
• Positive Sentiment: Some sell‑the‑news rhetoric has created value opportunities: analysts point to cheaper valuation metrics and upgraded EPS forecasts, with commentators highlighting potential cost-savings from restructuring. Meta Platforms: Lean Into The Fear (Seeking Alpha)
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is aggressively doubling down on AI infrastructure (Arm CPU initiative, large new data‑center programs) — a long‑term strategic positive for AI monetization but a near‑term cash drain that fuels investor uncertainty. Meta deepens AI strategy with new Arm CPU initiative (Zacks)
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta paid its first 2026 dividend ($0.525/share) — a modest income signal to investors but not material to the valuation story. Meta paid dividend (Finbold)
• Negative Sentiment: Two recent jury verdicts (including a $375M award and punitive damages from a social‑media addiction case) have raised the prospect of broader legal liability, regulatory changes and appeals that could increase future costs and compliance expenses. Meta shares slip after US jury verdicts (Reuters)
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction: Meta joins a tech selloff this week (Nasdaq weakness), with share price declines of double‑digit percentages from recent highs as investors factor in litigation risk and margin pressure from AI capex. Tech stocks suffer worst week in nearly a year (CNBC)
• Negative Sentiment: Several outlets report steep intraday drops and heavy option activity as traders reposition; headlines argue the verdicts could trigger follow‑on litigation or regulatory remedies that resemble a “Big Tobacco”‑style reckoning. Meta stock plunges after lawsuit defeats (Blockonomi)

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $525.72 on Monday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $479.80 and a twelve month high of $796.25. The company has a market cap of $1.33 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.30. 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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $643.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $666.03.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $8.02 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th were paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.94%.

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.