Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Has $210.16 Million Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 28.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 367,335 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 81,499 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 3.0% of Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $210,163,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of META. Carmel Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 29.1% during the 1st quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,553 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $889,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1,765.5% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 541 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 512 shares during the period. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,417 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $4,243,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 29.3% during the first quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,170 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,814,000 after buying an additional 718 shares during the period. Finally, Accredited Investors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 17.0% during the first quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 6,922 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,961,000 after buying an additional 1,006 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the subject of a number of research reports. Arete Research set a $735.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $885.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $835.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total transaction of $5,589,088.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,014,978.24. The trade was a 41.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total transaction of $2,012,047.56. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 9,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,708,013.06. This trade represents a 26.06% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 39,503 shares of company stock valued at $24,241,859. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 3.1%

NASDAQ:META opened at $681.31 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.72 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.77, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $796.25. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $601.49 and a 200 day moving average of $626.86.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. The business had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.43 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were paid 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, June 15th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 7.63%.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple pieces highlighted Meta’s expanding AI strategy, including reports that it is building out custom chips and massive computing capacity, with some commentary suggesting Meta could even broaden into cloud services. That supports the view that META is investing aggressively to stay competitive in AI. How Meta Platforms (META) Is Strengthening Its AI Infrastructure With Custom Chips and Massive Computing Expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Several market articles argued that investors are still warming to Meta ahead of its next earnings report, pointing to strong ad growth, AI engagement, and continued long-term demand for its platforms. This is helping sentiment around the stock. Meta Platforms, Inc. (META) is Attracting Investor Attention: Here is What You Should Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta announced it will release second-quarter 2026 results on July 29, keeping attention on the upcoming earnings print. That event is adding anticipation, but it is not a direct operational surprise yet. Meta to Announce Second Quarter 2026 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Some analysts are debating valuation and capital spending, with concerns that heavy AI capex could pressure free cash flow even if revenue remains strong. That creates a valuation headwind, but it is still largely a longer-term debate. Meta Q2 Preview: CAPEX And Free Cash Flow In Focus
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is facing a new lawsuit from former employees alleging it used AI tools and workplace metrics to target workers on medical, parental, or other protected leave during layoffs. That raises legal and reputational risk for META. Meta used AI to target workers with medical conditions for layoffs, former employees’ lawsuit claims

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.