Zuckerman Investment Group LLC Trims Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Zuckerman Investment Group LLC lessened its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,851 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,371 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 2.6% of Zuckerman Investment Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Zuckerman Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $27,797,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Norges Bank bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $23,155,393,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in 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 worth $6,212,506,000 after purchasing an additional 8,405,558 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $64,158,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,650,435 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 192,591,101 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $142,149,566,000 after buying an additional 1,532,568 shares during the period. Finally, Concentrum Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 948.7% in the 3rd quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management now owns 1,243,577 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $913,000 after buying an additional 1,124,998 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is rolling out new Meta AI features for Facebook Marketplace (automated listing creation and pricing) that help monetize its ads/commerce funnel and show ongoing productization of AI. Meta AI Writes Listings and Sets Prices for Facebook Marketplace Sellers
• Positive Sentiment: Meta outlined an aggressive in‑house chip roadmap (MTIA series) focused on generative AI inference — this could lower long‑term inference costs and improve margins if deployed at scale. Meta Chip Roadmap Puts AI Inference And Costs In Sharper Focus
• Positive Sentiment: Several bullish takeaways: fund managers cite Meta’s cost discipline and scale as advantages, and some analysts/notes argue the stock is attractively valued among large cap AI beneficiaries. These views provide a counterweight to short‑term AI execution concerns. Cuggino likes Meta for cost discipline
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider selling: COO Javier Olivan disclosed sales in early March (files show multiple transactions). Sizeable insider sales can draw attention but don’t necessarily signal company fundamentals. SEC filing – Olivan insider sale
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory scrutiny continues in the U.K. around child safety on platforms — a recurring policy risk that can affect product rollouts and compliance costs but is broadly anticipated by investors. UK watchdogs press Meta to block children
• Negative Sentiment: Avocado delay: Multiple outlets report Meta pushed the Avocado launch from this month to at least May after performance concerns, prompting investor worry about missed timelines and competitive positioning vs. Google/OpenAI. Meta Delays Rollout of New A.I. Model After Performance Concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction & scrutiny: Reports highlight that the delay increases scrutiny of Meta’s multibillion‑dollar AI investments and raises the risk of competitors pulling ahead, pressuring sentiment and the stock near term. Meta delays rollout of new AI model, NYT reports
• Negative Sentiment: Additional coverage frames the pause as a potential strategic cost — analysts and commentary ask whether Meta can afford to wait while rivals sprint ahead, amplifying short‑term downside risk. Avocado on Ice: Can Meta Afford to Pause?

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total transaction of $36,471,323.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $631.24, for a total transaction of $5,106,100.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 2,841 shares in the company, valued at $1,793,352.84. This trade represents a 74.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 161,446 shares of company stock valued at $103,451,688 in the last quarter. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META opened at $613.71 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.55 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $653.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $677.91. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $479.80 and a 1 year high of $796.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 2.60.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $58.33 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 30.08%.Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $8.02 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 8.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $810.00 to $885.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Arete Research reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. 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. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $860.00 target price (up from $750.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Three equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $844.44.

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.