Castellan Group Buys New Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Castellan Group purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $734,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 237.5% in the second quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at $42,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth $44,000. Finally, WFA Asset Management Corp grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 42.6% during the 2nd quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 67 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $615.52 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $641.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $701.60. The stock has a market cap of $1.55 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.19, a PEG ratio of 1.25 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 results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $49.34 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.03 EPS. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS 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 given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 9.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on META. Citizens Jmp reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $900.00 price objective (up previously from $750.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, November 24th. DA Davidson set a $825.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, October 30th. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 price target for the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $860.00 to $808.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,117.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday. Four equities 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. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $822.96.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $658.69, for a total transaction of $341,860.11. Following the transaction, the insider owned 28,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,876,738.02. The trade was a 1.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $653.00, for a total value of $337,601.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 11,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,291,398. This represents a 4.43% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 40,571 shares of company stock valued at $25,137,541 in the last three months. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Big‑tech energy deals reduce a major execution risk for Meta’s AI/data‑center buildout — Meta signed prepayment/partner arrangements (e.g., Oklo) that de‑risk long‑term baseload power for its compute expansion, which supports the Meta Compute plan. Oklo’s Meta Deal De-Risks the Story—Rebound Setup Emerging
• Positive Sentiment: Additional nuclear partnerships (Terrapower reports) signal Meta is securing long‑term, reliable power — important as Meta scales “tens/hundreds of gigawatts” for AI. Bill Gates’ Terrapower to supply Meta Platforms with nuclear reactors
• Positive Sentiment: Demand signals for AI wearables: Meta and EssilorLuxottica are discussing ramping Ray‑Ban Meta smart glasses output, supporting the company’s pivot to AI devices and potential revenue diversification beyond advertising. Meta mulls doubling output of Ray-Ban glasses by year end
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst bullishness: a couple of firms reaffirmed/raised targets (Rosenblatt, TD Cowen), indicating upside expectation if Meta’s AI investments pay off.
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta Compute initiative outlines a massive data‑center/data‑power capex path to own AI infrastructure — strategically positive long term but increases near‑term capital intensity and execution risk. Meta Compute: Inside Zuckerberg’s Massive Data Center Bet
• Neutral Sentiment: Quarterly release scheduled after the close on Jan. 28 — upcoming results and guidance will be a key catalyst for the next leg of the stock’s move. Meta to Announce Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Results
• Negative Sentiment: Reality Labs layoffs (~1,500 jobs, ~10% of division) signal contraction of metaverse ambitions and larger restructuring; while this cuts costs, it raises near‑term execution and product risks for VR/metaverse roadmap. Meta Lays Off 1,500 People in Metaverse Division
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades and pessimistic forecasts (some outlets reporting cuts in sentiment and price targets) are pressuring the stock amid concerns about very large 2026 capex guidance and falling free‑cash‑flow. Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Meta Platforms
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: COO Javier Olivan disclosed a sale (~517 shares) which, paired with other negative headlines, can amplify short‑term selling pressure. SEC Filing: Javier Olivan sale
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/legal risks persist (e.g., Brazil/WhatsApp orders and appeals) that could add litigation or compliance costs in key markets. Meta, WhatsApp approach Supreme Court against NCLAT decision

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.