Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Holdings Raised by German American Bancorp Inc.

German American Bancorp Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,520 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,226 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 2.6% of German American Bancorp Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. German American Bancorp Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $29,023,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of META. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at approximately $23,155,393,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 73,443.1% during 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $64,158,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,650,435 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 192,591,101 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $142,149,566,000 after acquiring an additional 1,532,568 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 103.5% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,998,624 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,475,166,000 after purchasing an additional 1,016,667 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $658.69, for a total value of $341,860.11. Following the transaction, the insider owned 28,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,876,738.02. The trade was a 1.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $618.28, for a total value of $358,602.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 5,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,454,330.36. This trade represents a 9.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 10,478 shares of company stock worth $6,799,696 in the last quarter. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bill Ackman has made a very large new investment in Meta — described as a multi-billion-dollar (reported ~$1–2B) stake — and called the shares “deeply discounted,” sparking renewed investor demand. Ackman’s $2B Bet
• Positive Sentiment: Media/analyst pieces highlight Meta as a top AI/advertising platform with diversified revenue streams, reinforcing the long-term growth argument tied to AI-driven ad demand. Billionaire Bill Ackman Reveals New Position
• Positive Sentiment: Barron’s reports strong traction for Meta’s smart glasses (7M+ pairs sold in 2025), highlighting a growing hardware/reality‑compute revenue stream that could expand monetization beyond ads. Meta Is the Winner in Smart Glasses
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple asset managers have recently increased Meta positions (examples include Bowie Capital, Night Owl, Causeway, Columbus Hill), signaling continued institutional interest. Bowie Capital Boosts Meta Stake
• Neutral Sentiment: Philippe Laffont (Scion) lists Meta among his top holdings, reflecting concentrated hedge-fund exposure but not an immediate catalyst. Is Meta Platforms Philippe Laffont’s Top Pick?
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage notes Ackman rotated assets (sold Hilton) into AI bets including Meta and Amazon — shows conviction but is part of broader portfolio moves. Ackman Sold Hilton and Bought AI Stock
• Negative Sentiment: White House adviser Peter Navarro said the administration may force data-center builders to “internalize” utility costs — a policy risk that could raise Meta’s operating and capital costs for AI infrastructure. Trump trade adviser Navarro says administration may force data center builders like Meta to ‘internalize’ costs
• Negative Sentiment: Some managers trimmed Meta (Abrams Capital trimmed shares), a reminder that profit-taking and rebalancing are occurring even amid buy-side interest. Abrams Capital Trims Meta Stake

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on META shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $920.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Benchmark downgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $900.00 price target (up previously from $870.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $845.50.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.5%

META stock opened at $639.77 on Tuesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $479.80 and a 1-year high of $796.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The business’s 50 day moving average is $657.09 and its 200-day moving average is $692.40. The firm has a market cap of $1.62 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.28.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.16 by $0.72. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 30.08%.The business had revenue of $59.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $8.02 EPS. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 8.94%.

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.