Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Buys 967 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,346 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 967 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up about 1.1% of Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $18,279,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $20,230,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,537,000 after buying an additional 875 shares during the last quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 294.7% during the first quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd now owns 150,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $86,454,000 after acquiring an additional 112,000 shares in the last quarter. Kooman & Associates raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Kooman & Associates now owns 544 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $402,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LeConte Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 48.9% in the 2nd quarter. LeConte Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,824 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,346,000 after acquiring an additional 599 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is preparing to test paid/premium subscription plans across Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp that would unlock exclusive AI features — a direct revenue‑diversification path beyond advertising. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Meta signed a multiyear commitment to buy up to $6 billion of fiber‑optic cable from Corning to support U.S. AI data‑center expansion — a sign of sustained capex for AI infrastructure that supports long‑term revenue growth (but implies higher near‑term spending). Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Momentum has been strong: META logged a five‑day winning streak recently, contributing to a large market‑cap gain and signaling short‑term investor enthusiasm into earnings. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades arrived this week (e.g., Rothschild/Redburn moved to a stronger buy), supporting the stock ahead of results. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings and macro calendar: META reports Q4 after the bell, and traders expect a sizable post‑earnings move — that raises short‑term volatility risk but also creates buying opportunities for active investors. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several firms trimmed price targets (into the $800–$835 range) while largely keeping buy/overweight ratings — a mixed signal: continued analyst conviction but more conservative upside assumptions reflecting capex and valuation risk. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Wall Street remains wary of rising AI capital and operating costs: analysts warn elevated AI spending and Reality Labs losses could pressure near‑term margins and guidance, which could weigh on the stock if management signals heavier 2026 expenses. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/legal risk: Meta is heading into a high‑profile trial over alleged youth addiction harms, a litigation and reputational overhang that could produce headlines and regulatory scrutiny. Read More.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $608.35, for a total transaction of $314,516.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 10,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,478,319.15. This represents a 4.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $618.28, for a total transaction of $358,602.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 5,587 shares in the company, valued at $3,454,330.36. This represents a 9.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 39,596 shares of company stock worth $24,277,237. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META stock opened at $673.07 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 1.98. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $645.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $696.04. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $479.80 and a one year high of $796.25. The company has a market capitalization of $1.70 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.29.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 9.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on META. Rothschild Redb raised Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Benchmark downgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised shares of Meta Platforms from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $740.00 to $900.00 in a report on Monday. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $1,117.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $822.00.

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.