TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. Buys 3,977 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 192,446 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,977 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 0.9% of TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $138,185,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the second 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 during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.9% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 51,575,209 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $37,902,948,000 after buying an additional 682,768 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at about $23,155,393,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 1.8% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,489,621 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $10,694,644,000 after acquiring an additional 262,550 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst & media bullishness around Meta’s AI leadership and product traction reinforces upside potential — commentators (e.g., Jim Cramer) highlight Meta’s progress in automating model development, which supports the view that Meta can scale AI more efficiently. Meta Platforms (META) CEO Zuckerberg Has “Figured Out How to Have AI Make AI,” Says Jim Cramer
• Positive Sentiment: Bull case pieces argue Meta is monetizing AI strongly (ad redistribution, Reels engagement, models like Lattice/GEM), underpinning revenue and margins upside if execution continues. Meta: Buy The AI Revolution
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s elevated 2026 capex guide and extension of MTIA from inference to training signal sustained hyperscaler demand for AI infrastructure — positive for long‑term AI revenue capture and for partners/suppliers. Meta Soars After-Hours Forecasting Fastest Growth Since 2021
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed institutional moves: some funds (e.g., First Eagle) trimmed positions while others boosted stakes (Alecta, Davis), reflecting both profit‑taking and conviction — a wash for longer‑term ownership trends. First Eagle Investment Management Trims Meta Platforms Stake
• Neutral Sentiment: ESG/energy moves (new PPA for Skull Creek solar) reduce power/operational risk long‑term but are non‑revenue and increase near‑term capital/contract commitments. Zelestra Expands Relationship with Meta — Skull Creek Solar PPA
• Negative Sentiment: Broad market pressure: a broad Big Tech sell‑off tied to fears of an AI spending bubble has removed over $1 trillion from sector values, pressuring META alongside peers as investors de‑risk. Big Tech sees over $1 trillion wiped from stocks as fears of AI bubble ignite sell-off
• Negative Sentiment: Sell‑side caution: Needham warns of 10–15% downside citing valuation and capex risk — analyst caution can amplify short‑term selling if investors fear margin pressure from rising AI spend. Why Needham Warns That Meta Platforms Stock Could Be Headed for 10%-15% Downside
• Negative Sentiment: Legal/regulatory risk: reports questioning the legality of Meta’s data collection and renewed scrutiny around research/data practices (e.g., Moltbook comparisons to 2017 experiments) raise reputational and compliance concerns in key markets. Why Meta Platforms’ data collection is illegal Moltbook furor reminiscent of 2017 Facebook research experiment
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: small, regular sales by COO Javier Olivan have been disclosed — modest on their own but can feed narratives of near‑term profit taking. SEC Filing – Javier Olivan sale

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,875 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Saturday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.46, for a total transaction of $4,190,037.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 88,370 shares in the company, valued at $53,857,980.20. This trade represents a 7.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.35, for a total transaction of $365,610.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 7,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,476,894.45. The trade was a 7.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 39,594 shares of company stock valued at $24,325,407 over the last three months. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Arete Research set a $718.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $1,117.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $900.00 target price (up from $870.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $847.40.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META opened at $661.46 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.67 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $479.80 and a 52-week high of $796.25. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $656.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $695.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a current ratio of 2.60.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.16 by $0.72. The company had revenue of $59.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.33 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 38.61%. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $8.02 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a $0.525 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.94%.

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.