Childress Capital Advisors LLC Purchases 4,790 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Childress Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 59.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,864 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 4,790 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 1.7% of Childress Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Childress Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $9,447,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 608,429.2% during the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 59,775,823 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $44,119,937,000 after purchasing an additional 59,766,000 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $23,155,393,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 73,443.1% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,417,003 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,212,506,000 after purchasing an additional 8,405,558 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $64,158,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,650,435 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 192,591,101 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $142,149,566,000 after buying an additional 1,532,568 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 2.5%

META opened at $615.52 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $641.01 and a 200 day moving average of $701.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $479.80 and a 12 month high of $796.25. The firm has a market cap of $1.55 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.29.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 9.28%.

Key Headlines 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

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 11,690 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.31, for a total transaction of $6,935,793.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 2,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,432,843.65. The trade was a 82.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,875 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Saturday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.46, for a total transaction of $4,190,037.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 88,370 shares in the company, valued at $53,857,980.20. This trade represents a 7.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 40,571 shares of company stock valued at $25,137,541. Insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the topic of several research analyst reports. DA Davidson set a $825.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, October 30th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, November 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $900.00 target price (up from $750.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $822.96.

Meta Platforms 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.