Kovack Advisors Inc. Sells 868 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Kovack Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 7.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,429 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 868 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up 0.8% of Kovack Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $8,393,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of META. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $20,230,000 after buying an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,537,000 after acquiring an additional 875 shares during the last quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 294.7% in the 1st quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd now owns 150,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $86,454,000 after acquiring an additional 112,000 shares in the last quarter. Dymon Asia Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at $213,000. Finally, Capital & Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at $322,000. Hedge funds and other 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: Major AMD GPU agreement strengthens Meta’s AI scale and supplier diversification, supporting long‑term ad/AI monetization potential even as it implies higher capital spending. META Taps AMD GPUs
• Positive Sentiment: Report that Meta will rent Google TPUs to accelerate model development gives the company faster access to compute and reduces dependence on any single vendor, aiding short‑term AI progress. Google signs multibillion-dollar AI chip deal with Meta
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s quarterly cash dividend ($0.525/share) adds a modest income component and can help stabilize the stock amid a heavy AI capex cycle. MarketBeat META overview
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is reportedly planning a stablecoin/payments pilot in H2 2026 — a long‑term monetization opportunity that could boost creator payouts and cross‑border settlement, but timing, partners and regulation remain key uncertainties. CoinDesk: Meta stablecoin plans
• Neutral Sentiment: Short interest in META declined meaningfully in February, reducing a potential downside crowd and making rallies easier to sustain (short‑covering risk lower).
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: CFO Susan Li reported large share sales (most recently disclosed Feb. 24 filing), and COO Javier Olivan sold shares — routine but can be interpreted negatively by some investors. SEC filing: Susan J. Li sale
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing litigation and regulatory scrutiny — high‑profile U.S. trial over alleged social‑media harm and EU antitrust disputes — keep headline risk and potential compliance costs elevated. Reuters: social‑media trial Reuters: EU court adviser on antitrust
• Negative Sentiment: AI talent movement (e.g., OpenAI hiring a Meta researcher) and high ongoing capex projections (guidance points to elevated 2026 spending) are reminders that competition for talent and costly infrastructure could pressure margins before long‑term gains materialize. Reuters: OpenAI hires Meta researcher

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META opened at $657.01 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $656.04 and its 200 day moving average is $686.79. The company has a current ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market cap of $1.66 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.96, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $479.80 and a 12-month high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 earnings per share 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 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $8.02 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued 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 is Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Benchmark downgraded Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $800.00 target price (up from $770.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $835.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 26th. Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $825.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $844.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $631.24, for a total transaction of $5,106,100.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 2,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,793,352.84. The trade was a 74.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $646.00, for a total value of $374,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,167 shares in the company, valued at $3,983,882. This trade represents a 8.60% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 103,837 shares of company stock valued at $66,356,760 over the last three months. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.