Stanley Laman Group Ltd. Grows Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Stanley Laman Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 579.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,955 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,048 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up 1.4% of Stanley Laman Group Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Stanley Laman Group Ltd.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $9,514,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of META. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 237.5% during the second quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, WFA Asset Management Corp lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 42.6% in the second quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 67 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Secured multi‑gigawatt nuclear power deals (Vistra, TerraPower, Oklo) to supply Meta’s Prometheus AI data center — long‑dated agreements help lock in reliable, low‑carbon capacity for heavy AI compute and reduce power‑supply risk for future growth. Meta strikes nuclear power agreements with three companies
• Positive Sentiment: Nuclear deals receive broad coverage (TechCrunch, Bloomberg) and have already lifted shares of partners (Oklo, Vistra) — a signal markets view the agreements as material to Meta’s AI infrastructure buildout and future margins. Meta signs deals with three nuclear companies for 6+ GW
• Positive Sentiment: Strong demand signals for Meta’s Ray‑Ban Display AI glasses — company paused international rollout because U.S. demand outstripped limited inventory, which supports upside for Reality Labs if Meta can scale production. Meta’s New AI Glasses See “Unprecedented Demand”
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst activity mixed but constructive: some price targets trimmed (Guggenheim lowered its target) yet many firms retain Buy/Outperform views given AI growth and healthy fundamentals — watch updates for guidance impact. Guggenheim price target note
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory risk in China — Beijing announced a probe/assessment of Meta’s ~$2B Manus acquisition to check export/security compliance; this creates near‑term transaction uncertainty and geopolitical headline risk. China to assess/investigate Manus deal
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: COO Javier Oliván disclosed small, regular share sales — routine but sometimes interpreted by market participants as a mild near‑term negative signal. SEC filing: Javier Oliván sale

Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of META opened at $653.06 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $641.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $703.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.65 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.29. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $479.80 and a 12-month high of $796.25.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 9.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on META. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $950.00 to $910.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $1,117.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Oppenheimer lowered Meta Platforms from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Arete Research set a $718.00 target price on Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $825.00 target price (down previously from $900.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $822.89.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other 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 transaction of $341,860.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 28,658 shares of the company’s stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $646.00, for a total transaction of $374,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,983,882. The trade was a 8.60% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 41,555 shares of company stock valued at $25,869,502 in the last 90 days. 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.