Gradient Investments LLC Purchases 14,924 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Gradient Investments LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 11.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 144,027 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,924 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.5% of Gradient Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $95,071,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,532,568 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position 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 worth $64,158,971,000 after buying an additional 1,650,435 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in Meta Platforms by 0.7% during 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 last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at approximately $23,155,393,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,153,754 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $12,597,374,000 after buying an additional 142,229 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $594.89 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $647.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $669.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.30. 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 current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 2.60.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced 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. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 30.08%.The company had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $8.02 EPS. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of Meta Platforms 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total value of $36,471,323.70. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 162,484 shares of company stock worth $104,015,906. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta signed on as the launch customer/co-developer for Arm’s new AGI CPU, which de-risks Arm’s data-center push and signals Meta is securing bespoke AI infrastructure to lower long‑term AI costs and improve performance. Arm launches first own-brand chip with Meta as launch customer
• Positive Sentiment: Meta is rolling out AI initiatives for commerce and small businesses (Meta Small Business, AI shopping tools), and is integrating AI across workflows — developments investors view as revenue‑accretive and margin‑supporting over time. Meta launches new initiative to support entrepreneurship, drive AI adoption
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta granted performance‑tied stock awards and options to senior executives to retain talent during the AI race; markets see this as a retention positive but with aggressive targets (and potential dilution) embedded. Meta grants senior executives stock awards to retain talent
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Meta will cut several hundred roles (and unconfirmed reports of up to 20% headcount reductions) are being parsed as either necessary cost discipline amid huge AI CapEx or a sign of execution risk; investors are treating this as a mixed signal. Meta to lay off hundreds of employees
• Negative Sentiment: A New Mexico jury ordered Meta to pay $375 million after finding the company violated state consumer‑protection laws by enabling sexual exploitation of minors — a headline legal loss that increases litigation and reputational risk. Meta found liable in child exploitation case, ordered to pay $375 million
• Negative Sentiment: In a separate Los Angeles bellwether, jurors found Meta negligent in a youth social‑media addiction case and assessed punitive/compensatory damages (including a $2.1M punitive share for Meta), underscoring broader industry legal exposure that could prompt future damages or regulation. Jury Orders $3 Million in Punitive Damages Against Meta and YouTube
• Negative Sentiment: China has restricted founders of Manus amid a regulatory review of Meta’s acquisition, potentially delaying integration of AI talent and adding geopolitical execution risk. China bars Manus co-founders from leaving country as it reviews sale to Meta

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on META. Wedbush lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $1,117.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Raymond James Financial cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $800.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 26th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $900.00 price objective (up from $870.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $846.63.

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.