Cannell & Spears LLC Increases Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Cannell & Spears LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 554.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 69,283 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 58,691 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 1.0% of Cannell & Spears LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Cannell & Spears LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $50,880,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 192,591,101 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $142,149,566,000 after purchasing an additional 1,532,568 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake 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 valued at $64,158,971,000 after buying an additional 1,650,435 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 51,575,209 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $37,902,948,000 after buying an additional 682,768 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 39,247,690 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $28,823,375,000 after buying an additional 278,180 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth approximately $23,155,393,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 3.8%

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $613.71 on Monday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $479.80 and a twelve month high of $796.25. The firm has a market cap of $1.55 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $653.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $676.88. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.16 by $0.72. The business had revenue of $59.89 billion for 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $8.02 EPS. Analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid 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 yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 8.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on META. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $825.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Zacks Research lowered Meta Platforms from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, November 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 price target on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $844.44.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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 Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief technology officer 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total transaction of $36,471,323.70. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 160,349 shares of company stock worth $102,743,026 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

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.