Advisors Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 16.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 48,819 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,991 shares during the quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $35,852,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.4% in the second quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 3,506 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,587,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co of the South boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 1,850 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,359,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Sentinel Pension Advisors LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sentinel Pension Advisors LLC now owns 915 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $672,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management increased its position in Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management now owns 4,301 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,159,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 454 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,200,374.26. The trade was a 10.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,789 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $650.00, for a total value of $12,212,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 68,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,777,200. This represents a 21.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 46,580 shares of company stock valued at $30,048,498 in the last three months. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.3%

NASDAQ:META opened at $639.30 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 2.60. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $656.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $687.24. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $479.80 and a 1-year high of $796.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.62 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.20, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.28.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $8.16 by $0.72. The company had revenue of $59.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.33 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The firm’s revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $8.02 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.94%.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Big AI chip deal with AMD: Meta agreed to a multiyear supply/partnership to deploy up to ~6 GW of AMD AI GPUs and could purchase as much as 10% of AMD, representing billions in committed chip spend that diversifies Meta’s supplier base and validates its large-scale AI buildout. VIEW AMD secures Meta as next big AI chip customer
• Positive Sentiment: Shareholder return: Meta declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.525 per share, payable March 26, which supports total-return investors and can help underpin the stock during AI‑capex cycles. Meta (META) Strengthens Investor Appeal With Dividend Payout
• Neutral Sentiment: Stablecoin/payments push: Multiple reports say Meta is preparing to re-enter payments with stablecoin integration across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp potentially in H2 2026 — a longer‑term monetization opportunity but subject to partner deals and regulatory scrutiny. Meta Hopes to Launch Stablecoin Payments Project This Year
• Neutral Sentiment: Renewable power deal: Meta signed a long-term offtake for an 80 MW solar project in Pennsylvania to support US data‑center operations — positive for operations/ESG but limited immediate financial impact. MN8 Energy Supports Meta’s U.S. Data Center Operations
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment: Consensus analyst coverage remains positive-to-cautious (consensus “Moderate Buy”), suggesting Wall Street sees upside tied to AI execution but also recognizes valuation and capex risks. Meta Platforms Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy”
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale: CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,789 shares (~$12.2M at ~$650 average), lowering her stake ~21%; insider sales can raise concern about executive conviction despite routine explanations. SEC filing: Susan J. Li sale
• Negative Sentiment: Legal/reputational risk: Court filings show internal warnings that planned end‑to‑end encryption could impede reporting of child‑exploitation cases, heightening regulatory and litigation risk that could create headlines and potential compliance costs. Meta executive warned Facebook Messenger encryption plan was ‘so irresponsible’

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $800.00 price target (up from $770.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Meta Platforms from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $872.00 price objective (up from $830.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $920.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Three 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $844.44.

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.