1776 Wealth LLC Buys 992 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

1776 Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 75.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,303 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 992 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 0.7% of 1776 Wealth LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. 1776 Wealth LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,691,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at $44,000. WFA Asset Management Corp raised its position 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth approximately $59,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of META opened at $644.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 2.60. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $479.80 and a 1 year high of $796.25. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $656.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $690.96. The firm has a market cap of $1.63 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.28.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its 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. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The company had revenue of $59.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $8.02 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $639.18, for a total value of $370,724.40. Following the sale, the director directly owned 5,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,200,374.26. This trade represents a 10.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,418 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Sunday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $639.77, for a total transaction of $4,106,043.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 73,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,924,570.42. This trade represents a 8.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 20,738 shares of company stock worth $13,362,921 in the last three months. 13.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Major NVIDIA multiyear deal — Meta signed a multigenerational agreement to buy millions of NVIDIA GPUs and adopt NVIDIA CPUs, networking and rack designs, strengthening its AI roadmap and securing long‑term supply for data‑center buildout. This deal underpins the rally as it reduces Meta’s hardware risk and accelerates product timelines. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Big investors leaning into the AI thesis — Reports (including 13F mentions) show some prominent funds increasing Meta exposure on the AI infrastructure/advertising opportunity, adding conviction to the upside. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Product roadmap shifts — Meta is refocusing Horizon Worlds toward mobile (less VR) and will shut down Messenger’s standalone website; these are strategic pivots that change execution risk but have limited immediate revenue impact. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling by senior executives — Multiple SEC filings show sizable recent sales by CFO Susan Li and COO Javier Olivan (and a director sale), which can create near‑term supply and market signaling concerns. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Staff equity cut to fund AI — Financial Times/Reuters report Meta trimmed annual equity awards by ~5% for most staff to reallocate dollars to AI buildout, highlighting cost tradeoffs and potential morale/retention implications. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Huge 2026 CapEx and margin risk — Coverage notes Meta’s elevated 2026 capex plan (reported guidance in the $115–$135B range) to build AI infrastructure; that spending fuels growth potential but increases short‑term margin and execution risk. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Legal/regulatory overhang — CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified in a landmark youth‑addiction trial that could influence future regulation, moderation costs, or advertising dynamics if outcomes impose new constraints. Read More.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on META. KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $835.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 26th. BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 price target for the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $844.29.

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.