Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stock Position Boosted by Whittier Trust Co.

Whittier Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 236,768 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,287 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 1.9% of Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $168,238,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at $44,000. WFA Asset Management Corp boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 42.6% in the 2nd quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 67 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at about $59,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 2.1%

META stock opened at $691.70 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.74 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $655.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $695.91. 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 quick ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.33 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 30.08%.The business’s revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $8.02 earnings per share. As a group, 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 was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.94%.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street has been upgrading Meta and lifting price targets after the company’s strong Q4 print and exceptionally strong Q1 revenue guide, supporting upside expectations. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Several brokerages reiterated/raised ratings — examples include Cantor Fitzgerald bumping its target to $860 and Barclays keeping an Overweight — reinforcing the buy-side view that fundamentals and ad recovery justify higher multiples. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/tech headlines around AI capex are creating mixed market reactions: Meta’s AI investments and infrastructure plans underpin growth but also increase near-term spending volatility; that ambiguity is tempering momentum. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is locking in off-grid power for hyperscale data needs (reported prepayment/agreements with SMR developers), which secures energy for AI workloads but implies long-dated infrastructure commitments. This is strategic but capital-intensive. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and commentators warn that AI capex and Reality Labs spending are rising quickly; several notes caution that mounting expenses could compress margins if revenue acceleration slows. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory risk: India’s top court questioned WhatsApp’s data-sharing with Meta entities and warned a ban could be reimposed — a tangible legal/regulatory headwind in a major market. Read More.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $665.00, for a total value of $343,805.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 10,132 shares in the company, valued at $6,737,780. This represents a 4.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $658.69, for a total transaction of $341,860.11. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 28,658 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,876,738.02. The trade was a 1.78% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 39,077 shares of company stock worth $23,955,958 over the last ninety days. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on META. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Citizens Jmp reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $900.00 target price (up from $750.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $800.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $785.00 to $820.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-one have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $848.50.

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.