Vantage Investment Partners LLC Sells 2,574 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Vantage Investment Partners LLC decreased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 62,339 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 2,574 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 3.1% of Vantage Investment Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Vantage Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $45,781,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,650,435 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the 2nd 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 acquiring an additional 682,768 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth approximately $23,155,393,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,489,621 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $10,694,644,000 after buying an additional 262,550 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the topic of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer cut shares of Meta Platforms from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Pivotal Research reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $930.00 to $910.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted 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. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $860.00 price target (up previously from $750.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $847.98.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 3.0%

NASDAQ:META opened at $716.50 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $479.80 and a 12 month high of $796.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.81 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.49, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $652.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $696.01. The company has a current ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.16 by $0.72. The business had revenue of $59.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.33 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 30.08%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $8.02 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 8.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $658.69, for a total value of $341,860.11. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 28,658 shares in the company, valued at $18,876,738.02. This represents a 1.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,454,330.36. This trade represents a 9.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 40,113 shares of company stock valued at $24,621,042. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat + AI narrative shift: Meta reported stronger‑than‑expected Q4 revenue and EPS and management framed ad strength as early proof that AI investments are improving monetization and engagement — a narrative some analysts now call an AI profit cycle. Meta’s Story Just Flipped — Seeking Alpha
• Positive Sentiment: Strong guidance & analyst upgrades: Q1 revenue guidance topped Street expectations and many firms raised price targets or reiterated buys, supporting the recent rally and giving institutional investors cover to support higher valuations. MarketBeat: Meta Soars After‑Hours
• Neutral Sentiment: Business diversification tests: Meta is piloting premium subscriptions for Instagram/Facebook/WhatsApp and expanding AI features — potential long‑term upside but unclear near‑term revenue impact. CNBC: Premium subscription tests
• Neutral Sentiment: Supply deals validate buildout but signal capital intensity: large supplier agreements (e.g., with Corning) back the AI data‑center plan while confirming heavy multi‑year spending. CNBC: Corning deal
• Negative Sentiment: Massive 2026 CapEx: Management guided to $115B–$135B of capex for 2026 — far above prior levels — raising near‑term cash intensity and margin dilution concerns despite management saying operating income should hold. Reuters: CapEx rise
• Negative Sentiment: Reality Labs drag: XR/Reality Labs continues to burn cash (multi‑billion losses), creating an ongoing margin headwind and execution risk for non‑ad businesses. TechCrunch: $19B VR burn
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory & reputational headlines: A New Mexico trial alleging platforms exposed minors to exploitation and reports about content‑blocking controversies add legal and reputational risk that can pressure multiple‑quarter sentiment. Reuters: New Mexico trial
• Negative Sentiment: Near‑term profit‑taking & headline noise: high short‑term expectations after the rally, occasional pundit criticism (e.g., Jim Cramer) and small insider sales add to volatility and can push the stock down after its run. 247WallSt: Jim Cramer critique

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.