Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stock Holdings Boosted by HighPoint Advisor Group LLC

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 5.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 50,750 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,417 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 1.8% of HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $37,270,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.4% in the second quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 3,506 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,587,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 2,223 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,641,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Trust Co of the South lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 1,850 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,359,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Sentinel Pension Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sentinel Pension Advisors LLC now owns 915 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the third quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management now owns 4,301 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,159,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.5%

NASDAQ:META opened at $639.77 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $1.62 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $479.80 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $657.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $693.40.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.16 by $0.72. The firm had revenue of $59.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.33 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $8.02 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.525 dividend. 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%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $591.60, for a total value of $307,040.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 34,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,487,699.60. The trade was a 1.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 11,690 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.31, for a total transaction of $6,935,793.90. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 2,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,432,843.65. The trade was a 82.88% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 24,530 shares of company stock worth $15,150,029 over the last three months. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Citizens Jmp restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $900.00 target price (up previously from $750.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Erste Group Bank lowered Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Arete Research set a $718.00 price target on Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $850.00 price objective (up previously from $800.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $845.50.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: High‑profile institutional support: Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square has taken a multi‑billion dollar stake, signaling confidence in Meta’s AI pivot and likely attracting other institutional interest. Ackman stake
• Positive Sentiment: Strong fundamentals and analyst upside: Q4 earnings beat and bullish analyst notes (multiple price‑target raises and buy reiterations) support a constructive medium‑term view. Seeking Alpha bullish note
• Positive Sentiment: Hardware and AI investments showing early traction: Ray‑Ban AI glasses sales growth and Reality Labs repositioning give optionality beyond ads. Ray‑Ban sales
• Neutral Sentiment: Dividend declared: Meta announced a $0.525 quarterly dividend (small yield) — positive for income investors but modest versus total return expectations. Dividend PR
• Neutral Sentiment: Large capex for AI: Meta broke ground on a ~$10B data‑center campus to boost AI compute — strengthens long‑term ad/AI moat but raises near‑term capex. Data center Reuters
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider/ownership moves mixed: CEO/COO small routine sales and some funds trimming while others add — notable but not a clear directional signal alone. SEC filing
• Negative Sentiment: Privacy and reputational risk from facial‑recognition plans for Ray‑Ban AI glasses: Reports that Meta plans a “Name Tag” feature have triggered renewed privacy concerns and could draw regulatory scrutiny or user backlash. NYT facial recognition
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/access hit: Russia moved to block WhatsApp for ~100M users, a material engagement loss in that market. WhatsApp block
• Negative Sentiment: Legal and litigation noise: Ongoing trials and witness testimony alleging platform harm raise litigation/ reputational risk that can pressure sentiment and potentially cost fines or operational changes. Trial coverage

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.