Highland Capital Management LLC Has $35.09 Million Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Highland Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 47,782 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,878 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 1.7% of Highland Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $35,090,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Infusive Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.7% during the first quarter. Infusive Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,620 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $13,614,000 after purchasing an additional 2,285 shares during the period. Spirepoint Private Client LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 2.7% in the second quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 4,080 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,011,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 10.4% during the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 55,431 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $43,790,000 after buying an additional 5,224 shares in the last quarter. CW Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 27.8% in the 2nd quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 176,762 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $130,467,000 after buying an additional 38,432 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 11.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 210,526 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $155,387,000 after buying an additional 20,912 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on META. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Benchmark cut shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. Arete Research set a $718.00 target price on Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $810.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $820.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $18,876,738.02. This trade represents a 1.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $646.00, for a total transaction of $374,680.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,167 shares in the company, valued at $3,983,882. The trade was a 8.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 42,074 shares of company stock valued at $26,269,739 in the last 90 days. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.1%

NASDAQ META opened at $665.96 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.68 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $479.80 and a one year high of $796.25. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $652.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $706.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.98.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 9.28%.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta agreed to acquire Manus, a Singapore-based agentic AI startup (reported ~ $2B). Investors view the deal as a direct bolt-on for Meta’s agent/automation strategy, accelerating product integration across Facebook/Instagram/WhatsApp and adding millions of paying users. Meta to acquire Chinese startup Manus to boost advanced AI features
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street remains constructive: multiple buy ratings and rising price targets (e.g., Rosenblatt reaffirmed buy with a $1,117 PT), reinforcing confidence that Meta’s heavy AI spending could pay off long term. Benzinga
• Neutral Sentiment: Debate over AI capex continues — investors accept higher near-term spending for models/data centers, but that capex remains a watch item for margins and free cash flow. Coverage and options commentary highlight both opportunity and short-term volatility. Buy Stock in the Mag 7 hypsercalers — AI spending debate
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: COO Javier Oliván and Chief Legal Officer Jennifer Newstead reported sales of ~517 and ~519 shares respectively in late December — the disclosures add near-term headline pressure even though sizes are small relative to holdings. Olivan SEC filing Newstead SEC filing
• Negative Sentiment: Legal risk: the U.S. Virgin Islands sued Meta, alleging the company profited from scam ads and failed to protect children — litigation could create regulatory and reputational pressure. Meta is sued by US Virgin Islands over ads for scams, dangers to children
• Negative Sentiment: Geopolitical/regulatory scrutiny: Manus’s founders’ China ties have already drawn attention in Washington — that could slow integrations or trigger extra review, increasing execution risk. Meta snaps up AI startup Manus for $2B, drawing scrutiny over Chinese roots

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.