Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Position Lowered by Nexus Investment Management ULC

Nexus Investment Management ULC trimmed its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 15.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 67,092 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 12,552 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 7.0% of Nexus Investment Management ULC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Nexus Investment Management ULC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $49,271,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Zacks Research cut shares of Meta Platforms from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $810.00 to $820.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $875.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $870.00 target price (down from $900.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $822.96.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $620.25 on Tuesday. 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 market capitalization of $1.56 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s fifty day moving average is $640.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $699.31. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $479.80 and a 1 year high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its 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. The company had revenue of $51.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.89% and a return on equity of 39.35%. The business’s revenue was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.03 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 9.28%.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Threads mobile usage now reportedly exceeds X, signaling faster user engagement growth for Meta’s social stack — a potential long‑term ad/reach tailwind. Meta’s Threads surpasses X on mobile usage
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain bullish on Meta’s AI-driven ad improvements, data‑center/power deals and hardware (Ray‑Ban smart glasses) expansion — supports upside case and long‑term revenue/ROI expectations. Analysts bullish on Meta Platforms (META) amid AI expansion and long-term power deals
• Positive Sentiment: Consumer/investor commentary highlights Meta as a value/contrarian buy given its AI investments and scale — supports possible near‑term buying interest. The Most ‘Hated’ Name In the Market Right Now Is a Screaming Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: Market context: “Magnificent Seven” leadership is fragmenting as the AI trade rotates — a broader sector dynamic that can weigh on META even if company fundamentals remain strong. The Magnificent Seven Drove Markets. Now They’re Pulling in Different Directions.
• Negative Sentiment: The UK Gambling Commission accused Meta of tolerating illegal gambling ads on its platforms — raises regulatory/legal risk and potential fines or ad‑policy costs in a major market. Meta ‘turning a blind eye’ to illegal gambling ads, UK Gambling Commission says
• Negative Sentiment: Policy risk: analysts warn Meta (and peers) could be hurt if other countries follow Australia’s under‑16 social‑media ban — potential user/ad revenue hit in affected markets. Meta and Snap Face Social-Media Ban Threat. These Countries Could Follow Australia.
• Negative Sentiment: Some investors and fund managers flag that accelerated AI capex is a near‑term margin/headwind risk and has tempered enthusiasm in activist/hedge circles. Accelerated AI Spending Hit Meta Platforms (META)
• Negative Sentiment: High‑profile commentary (e.g., Jim Cramer) frames Meta as a “lone wolf,” feeding short‑term selling pressure amid sector rotation and expectations reset. Meta (META)’s Shares Are Down Because It’s A Lone Wolf, Says Jim Cramer

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $653.00, for a total transaction of $337,601.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 11,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,291,398. The trade was a 4.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $646.00, for a total value of $374,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,983,882. This represents a 8.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 39,535 shares of company stock valued at $24,382,453. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.