WCM Investment Management LLC Sells 942 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

WCM Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,920 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 942 shares during the quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $17,039,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth $1,104,000. Raelipskie Partnership raised its position in Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Raelipskie Partnership now owns 3,519 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,584,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Sollinda Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sollinda Capital Management LLC now owns 646 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $475,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Lord & Richards Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 6.4% in the third quarter. Lord & Richards Wealth Management LLC now owns 668 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $491,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Keeler Thomas Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the third quarter. Keeler Thomas Management LLC now owns 2,332 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,713,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META stock opened at $668.69 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.69 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $658.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $694.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $479.80 and a one year 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.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.16 by $0.72. The business had revenue of $59.89 billion during 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%. The business’s revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $8.02 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on META. Evercore increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $910.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Benchmark downgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Three equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $845.50.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square disclosed a roughly $2B (~10% of the fund) position, calling META undervalued and an AI beneficiary — a high‑profile institutional endorsement that can attract other buyers and supports the AI growth narrative. Ackman Bets on Meta (Reuters)
• Positive Sentiment: Hardware traction: EssilorLuxottica says it more than tripled sales of Meta AI (Ray‑Ban) glasses in 2025 — evidence Reality Labs products can scale and diversify revenue beyond ads if momentum continues. Ray‑Ban Maker Triples Meta AI Glasses Sales (CNBC)
• Positive Sentiment: AI capacity bet: Meta began construction on a $10B Indiana data center to expand AI compute — a long‑term positive for ad/product innovation, though it raises near‑term capex. Meta $10B Indiana Data Center (Reuters)
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/investor interest: Multiple funds (Fisher, others) increased stakes and several brokers raised price targets or reiterated overweight ratings — supportive for sentiment. Analyst Coverage & Institutional Activity (MarketBeat)
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider selling: COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares (~$343k) — a modest, routine sale that is unlikely to signal major change in outlook by itself. Insider Filing (SEC)
• Negative Sentiment: Russia blocks WhatsApp: Authorities removed WhatsApp from an official directory, effectively blocking the app for ~100M users — a material engagement and revenue risk in that market. Russia Blocks WhatsApp (Reuters)
• Negative Sentiment: Legal/reputational pressure: Day‑to‑day trial testimony (former execs, witnesses) alleges platform harms; defense testimony (Instagram chief) seeks to limit addiction claims — but litigation uncertainty and potential regulatory action remain a drag. Trial Coverage (Yahoo)
• Negative Sentiment: Regional legal loss: A German court told a Meta subsidiary to pay ~€30M to Deutsche Telekom — modest financially but a reminder of ongoing operational/legal frictions. German Ruling (Reuters)

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 726 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $591.60, for a total value of $429,501.60. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 6,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,570,306. The trade was a 10.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,610 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.46, for a total value of $1,590,690.60. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 9,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,962,956.64. This represents a 21.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 39,078 shares of company stock worth $24,016,453 over the last three months. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms 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.