Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. Makes New $1.43 Million Investment in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,160 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,426,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in META. Norges Bank bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth about $23,155,393,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 73,443.1% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,417,003 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $6,212,506,000 after acquiring an additional 8,405,558 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.9% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $64,158,971,000 after acquiring an additional 1,650,435 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,191,175,000. Finally, Concentrum Wealth Management increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 948.7% during the 3rd quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management now owns 1,243,577 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $913,000 after acquiring an additional 1,124,998 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $536.38 on Tuesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $479.80 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a current ratio of 2.60. The stock has a market cap of $1.36 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $642.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $664.52.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $59.89 billion during 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $8.02 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 trade represents a 74.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,461 shares of the business’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $7,746,335.16. The trade was a 16.89% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 161,448 shares of company stock worth $103,333,788. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley and other firms are calling Meta a tactical buying opportunity and reiterating Buy/top-pick views, arguing the pullback has created a discounted entry given Meta’s fundamentals and AI exposure. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies also highlights that regulatory scrutiny is a persistent theme but not necessarily a crippling near-term catalyst, framing current legal headlines as a potential buying opportunity for longer-term investors. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta has begun testing a paid Instagram subscription (“Instagram Plus”) in select markets — a potential new ARPU/revenue stream if expanded, but currently a limited pilot with uncertain near-term revenue impact. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is sharing learnings from its Meta Lab stores with wearables/retail partners — a strategic move to accelerate Reality Labs retail presence and partner adoption, but with gradual monetization potential. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta’s El Paso data‑center project has grown to a ~$10B, 1‑gigawatt complex — evidence of big infrastructure buildout to support AI workloads; bullish for long‑term capacity but highlights larger capex commitments. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Recent court losses and ongoing regulatory/legal scrutiny remain material headline risk — coverage warns these rulings could constrain AI research practices and raise liability exposure, increasing near‑term uncertainty. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and commentators continue to debate Meta’s heavy capex (large multi‑year AI/Reality Labs spending). Deeper analyses flag the risk of near‑term negative free cash flow and pressure on margins despite long‑term optionality. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley lowered its price target (from $825 to $775) even while keeping an overweight rating — a mixed signal that narrows upside expectations versus earlier forecasts. Article Title

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on META. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $810.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $1,117.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Argus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $800.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $800.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Four 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $845.54.

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.