Douglas Lane & Associates LLC Cuts Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Douglas Lane & Associates LLC decreased its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 107,154 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,979 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.1% of Douglas Lane & Associates LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $78,692,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of META. Infusive Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 10.7% in the 1st 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 last quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 4,080 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,011,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 55,431 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $43,790,000 after buying an additional 5,224 shares during the period. CW Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 27.8% in the second quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 176,762 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $130,467,000 after acquiring an additional 38,432 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 11.0% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 210,526 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $155,387,000 after acquiring an additional 20,912 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $664.94 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $479.80 and a 1 year high of $796.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.68 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.37, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 1.98. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $657.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $707.04.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.89% and a return on equity of 39.35%. The firm had revenue of $51.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.35, for a total value of $365,610.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 7,347 shares in the company, valued at $4,476,894.45. This trade represents a 7.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,875 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Saturday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.46, for a total value of $4,190,037.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 88,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,857,980.20. This trade represents a 7.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 42,074 shares of company stock valued at $26,359,548. Insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Baird reaffirmed an “Outperform” rating on META and kept a high price target (trimmed slightly to $815), signaling continued analyst confidence in ad recovery and AI-driven margin upside. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple outlets report analysts remain generally bullish on Meta heading into 2026, supporting demand for shares as investors position for AI monetization and ad strength. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Product/AI momentum: reports of a new “Mango” AI model and a software update improving noise reduction for Meta’s AI glasses bolster prospects for differentiated AI features that can lift user engagement and ad effectiveness. Article Title Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Ad product execution: Ads Uploader exiting beta in 30 countries could improve ad operations for agencies (incremental revenue/enhanced ad spend efficiency), but impact will be gradual. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical/market commentary notes momentum cooling below resistance around $675 — useful for short‑term traders but not a direct fundamental change. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Two insider sales were filed this week: Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares and COO Javier Oliván sold 517 shares — small dollar amounts relative to insider holdings but sometimes interpreted negatively by short‑term traders. Newstead SEC Filing Oliván SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Product/policy headwinds: reports that Meta is testing pay‑walls for URLs in Facebook posts and limiting links could hurt creators and small business marketers, a potential risk to engagement and ad demand if widespread. Article Title Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Reputational risk: FTC data highlights $65M in rental scams since 2020 that often originate on Facebook, reminding investors of regulatory and trust issues that could pressure engagement or attract enforcement. Article Title

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. KeyCorp cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $905.00 to $875.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $720.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Wedbush dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $920.00 to $880.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $820.22.

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.