Americana Partners LLC Acquires 2,538 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Americana Partners LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,165 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,538 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 1.1% of Americana Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Americana Partners LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $35,372,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Goldstone Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 44.4% during the 3rd quarter. Goldstone Financial Group LLC now owns 3,752 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,756,000 after buying an additional 1,153 shares during the period. Spirepoint Private Client LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.7% during the second quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 4,080 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,011,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 10.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 5,224 shares in the last quarter. CW Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 27.8% in the 2nd quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 176,762 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $130,467,000 after purchasing an additional 38,432 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 11.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 210,526 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $155,387,000 after purchasing an additional 20,912 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results materially beat expectations: revenue roughly $59.9B and EPS of $8.88, plus first‑quarter revenue guidance above consensus ($53.5B–$56.5B). Strong ad momentum and user metrics support the core business. CNBC: Meta beats on top, bottom lines, gives stronger-than-expected forecast
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street reaction includes fresh bullish calls and upgrades ahead of/after the print, reflecting confidence in ad recovery and AI-driven monetization. Evercore reiterates outperform
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is testing premium subscription tiers across Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp to diversify revenue and add AI features — a potential long‑term positive but unclear near‑term impact. CNBC: Meta to test premium subscription plans
• Neutral Sentiment: Large supplier deals (e.g., up to $6B with Corning for fiber‑optic cable) validate Meta’s AI data‑center buildout but also signal sustained capital intensity. CNBC: Corning deal
• Negative Sentiment: Reality Labs continues to be a heavy drag: an operating loss of about $6.02B in Q4 and management disclosing multi‑billion‑dollar losses tied to XR investments. That amplifies margin risk. CNBC: Reality Labs loss
• Negative Sentiment: Meta signaled a dramatic increase in AI capex for 2026 (management cited a $115B–$135B buildout range), a front‑loaded spending plan that raises questions about near‑term returns and margin dilution. Reuters: Capex rise
• Negative Sentiment: Earlier TechCrunch reporting shows Reality Labs burned roughly $19B in recent periods and layoffs in that unit — a reminder that XR investment remains costly and uncertain. TechCrunch: $19B VR burn
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale: COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares (small amount relative to his holdings) — a minor negative signal that some investors will note. SEC filing

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of META stock opened at $668.73 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $479.80 and a 52-week high of $796.25. The stock has a market cap of $1.69 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.54, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $646.63 and its 200-day moving average is $695.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 1.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.16 by $0.72. The business had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.33 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.35% and a net margin of 30.89%.Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $8.02 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. 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 payout ratio is presently 9.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on META. Oppenheimer lowered Meta Platforms from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Erste Group Bank cut Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $750.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $815.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $910.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $822.00.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $665.00, for a total transaction of $343,805.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 10,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,737,780. This trade represents a 4.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction 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 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 40,113 shares of company stock worth $24,621,042. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

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.