Walter Public Investments Inc. Raises Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Walter Public Investments Inc. increased its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 60.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 31,937 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,060 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 3.9% of Walter Public Investments Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Walter Public Investments Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $23,454,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 237.5% during the second quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, WFA Asset Management Corp lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 42.6% during the 2nd quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 67 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $925.00 to $815.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $840.00 to $810.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $910.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday. DA Davidson set a $825.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $821.55.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 5.7%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $647.63 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.63 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $641.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $697.57. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $479.80 and a 52-week high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.89% and a return on equity of 39.35%. The company had revenue of $51.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.34 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 9.28%.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies reiterated its Buy rating and a $910 price target, highlighting a wider valuation discount and upside from a recent pullback — a bullish signal that supports buying interest. Jefferies lays out five reasons to buy Meta Platforms amid pullback
• Positive Sentiment: Meta will roll out ads on Threads globally next week, accelerating monetization of a 400M+ MAU product and improving near-term ad-revenue optionality. Meta to begin rolling out Threads ads globally
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and market commentary (e.g., Seeking Alpha) points to an attractive valuation — low-teens EV/EBITDA and ~21x 2025 earnings after the pullback — making the stock appealing to value-oriented buyers. Meta Platforms: Be Greedy When Others Are Fearful
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s AI lab reportedly delivered its first in-house models, signaling progress on core AI capabilities that underpin longer-term revenue and efficiency gains. This fuels investor hopes for sustained growth from AI initiatives. Meta’s AI Lab Delivers First Models In-House
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen boosted its price target and Meta plans to double production of Meta Glasses — a positive on the hardware/metaverse narrative and potential new revenue streams. Meta Platforms to Double Production For Meta Glasses While TD Cowen Lifts PT From $810 to $820
• Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming Q4 results and especially 2026 CapEx guidance are key catalysts — strong revenue/AI progress could lift shares, but an aggressive CapEx outlook remains a primary source of downside risk.
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider activity: COO Javier Oliván disclosed a modest sale of shares; while not large enough to signal a structural change, it’s being noted by traders. Javier Olivan insider sale
• Negative Sentiment: UK regulator Ofcom opened an investigation into Meta’s responses about WhatsApp data for a market review — a regulatory probe that raises compliance/legal uncertainty in Europe. UK investigates Meta’s compliance with WhatsApp data requests
• Negative Sentiment: Legal risk: Meta is fighting evidence limits in an upcoming New Mexico child-safety trial — adverse rulings or reputational fallout could pressure sentiment. Meta seeks to limit evidence in child safety case
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst moves and recent downgrades (UBS trimmed its PT) and prior trading dips show sensitivity to guidance and spending; those downward pressures still pose a risk if guidance disappoints. UBS Lowers Meta Platforms Price Target to $830

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $658.69, for a total value of $341,860.11. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 28,658 shares in the company, valued at $18,876,738.02. This represents a 1.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $608.35, for a total value of $314,516.95. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 10,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,478,319.15. This represents a 4.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 40,632 shares of company stock worth $25,055,572. Company 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.