Meta Platforms, Inc. $META is Vanguard Group Inc.’s 6th Largest Position

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 192,726,351 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 135,250 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 2.1% of Vanguard Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.08% of Meta Platforms worth $141,534,378,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of META. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth $44,000. WFA Asset Management Corp boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 42.6% during the second quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 67 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at about $59,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,461 shares of the stock in a transaction on Sunday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $639.77, for a total value of $1,574,473.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 12,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,746,335.16. This represents a 16.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $631.24, for a total transaction of $5,106,100.36. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 2,841 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,793,352.84. This trade represents a 74.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 28,310 shares of company stock worth $18,159,577. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta says it will deploy millions of Nvidia chips in its AI data centers this year, underpinning revenue upside for AI infrastructure partners and validating scale plans for Meta’s AI stack. Meta Platforms Just Gave Incredible News for Nebius Investors
• Positive Sentiment: High‑profile buying (Bill Ackman / Pershing Square) is being reported, adding conviction to the bulls and reducing perceived short‑term supply risk. That institutional demand is supporting upward momentum. Bill Ackman Bought Only 1 New Stock. Here’s Why the Billionaire is Bullish on Meta
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentators (Jim Cramer) say Meta may be building an enterprise/cloud angle — a strategic upside if realized but still speculative versus the company’s ad/AI thesis. Jim Cramer Believes Meta’s (META) Developing Its Own Cloud Business
• Neutral Sentiment: India’s Supreme Court will hear Meta/WhatsApp appeals over a CCI privacy penalty (₹213 crore); outcome uncertain but worth monitoring for regulatory/legal costs and reputational risk in a large market. Indian Supreme Court To Hear Meta, WhatsApp Pleas Against ₹213 Crore Penalty Over Privacy Policy
• Negative Sentiment: WSJ reports Meta is borrowing billions to fund its AI buildout despite strong free cash flow, highlighting that reported FCF can mask large noncash/compensation items and that management prefers debt to preserve liquidity. Meta Rakes It In, Yet Still Borrows Billions for AI
• Negative Sentiment: CNBC highlights a wider “AI bond binge” across hyperscalers (including Meta), meaning higher leverage and shifted risk to bondholders — investors should watch debt metrics and capex guidance for downside if AI monetization lags. How the AI debt binge shattered hyperscalers’ ‘unspoken contract’ with investors
• Negative Sentiment: Notable insider sales (CTO sale of ~8,089 shares; a director sale disclosure) add short‑term supply and raise questions about timing of personal liquidity events. Insider Selling: Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) CTO Sells 8,089 Shares of Stock

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $850.00 target price (up previously from $800.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $785.00 to $820.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Benchmark lowered Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Three research 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, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $844.29.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $655.66 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $656.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $689.03. The stock has a market cap of $1.66 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $479.80 and a twelve month high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.16 by $0.72. The business had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.33 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $8.02 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict 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 will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 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.