Synergy Asset Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Synergy Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 66.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 47,394 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 94,345 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 3.3% of Synergy Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Synergy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $31,284,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in META. Goldstone Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 44.4% during the third quarter. Goldstone Financial Group LLC now owns 3,752 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,756,000 after acquiring an additional 1,153 shares during the period. CW Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 27.8% in the 2nd quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 176,762 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $130,467,000 after acquiring an additional 38,432 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 34.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 52,252 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $38,373,000 after acquiring an additional 13,311 shares during the last quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,052 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $25,741,000 after purchasing an additional 1,657 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 84,059 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $55,487,000 after purchasing an additional 3,336 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms 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 transaction, the chief technology officer owned 2,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,793,352.84. The trade was a 74.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total transaction of $36,471,323.70. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 161,448 shares of company stock valued at $103,333,788. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $536.38 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $642.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $664.52. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $479.80 and a 52 week high of $796.25. 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 company has a market cap of $1.36 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.30.

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. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The firm had revenue of $59.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $8.02 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 8.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $849.00 to $856.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Erste Group Bank upgraded Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $840.00 to $880.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $872.00 target price (up from $830.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $845.54.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street still backing Meta: Morgan Stanley named META a “top pick” and multiple firms reiterated Buy/Overweight views, arguing the pullback creates a tactical buying opportunity even after Morgan Stanley trimmed its price target. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies sees upside long term despite regulatory noise, calling Meta a potential buying opportunity based on fundamentals and AI/ads strength. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: New monetization test: Meta is trialing “Instagram Plus,” a paid subscription in select markets that could broaden non‑ad revenue streams if it scales. That supports investor hopes for diversified revenue. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Retail and wearables push: Meta plans to share learnings from Meta Lab stores with wearables retailers, signaling continued investment in Reality/AR distribution and partner strategies—longer-term optionality rather than immediate revenue. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Infrastructure bets: Meta is investing in energy solutions (including a deal tied to Oklo nuclear) to support AI compute — large capex but addresses power constraints for growth. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory escalation in Southeast Asia: Indonesia summoned Meta over alleged non‑compliance with new rules restricting children under 16, raising the prospect of fines, content restrictions or forced product changes in large markets. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Australia flags potential breaches tied to kids’ protections, adding to global regulatory scrutiny that could force product changes, age‑limits, or compliance costs. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Legal risk momentum: Maryland lawsuits and recent jury verdicts in addiction-related litigation are increasing litigation tail risk and could shape damages exposure for Meta’s social products. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Capex and FCF concerns: Analysts and deep-dive pieces flag Meta’s heavy multi‑year capex (Reality Labs, data centers) as a near‑term drag on free cash flow and a risk to margins if ad growth slows. Read More.

Meta Platforms Company 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.