Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Increases Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 16.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 104,570 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,741 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.5% of Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $76,794,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth $23,155,393,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 73,443.1% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,417,003 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $6,212,506,000 after acquiring an additional 8,405,558 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 1.9% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $64,158,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,650,435 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 192,591,101 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $142,149,566,000 after purchasing an additional 1,532,568 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 103.5% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,998,624 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,475,166,000 after purchasing an additional 1,016,667 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $835.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $849.00 to $856.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $844.44.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $657.01 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $656.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $686.79. 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 $1.66 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.16 by $0.72. The firm 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 38.61% and a net margin of 30.08%.The firm’s revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $8.02 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders 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 of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.94%.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Major AMD GPU agreement strengthens Meta’s AI scale and supplier diversification, supporting long‑term ad/AI monetization potential even as it implies higher capital spending. META Taps AMD GPUs
• Positive Sentiment: Report that Meta will rent Google TPUs to accelerate model development gives the company faster access to compute and reduces dependence on any single vendor, aiding short‑term AI progress. Google signs multibillion-dollar AI chip deal with Meta
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s quarterly cash dividend ($0.525/share) adds a modest income component and can help stabilize the stock amid a heavy AI capex cycle. MarketBeat META overview
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is reportedly planning a stablecoin/payments pilot in H2 2026 — a long‑term monetization opportunity that could boost creator payouts and cross‑border settlement, but timing, partners and regulation remain key uncertainties. CoinDesk: Meta stablecoin plans
• Neutral Sentiment: Short interest in META declined meaningfully in February, reducing a potential downside crowd and making rallies easier to sustain (short‑covering risk lower).
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: CFO Susan Li reported large share sales (most recently disclosed Feb. 24 filing), and COO Javier Olivan sold shares — routine but can be interpreted negatively by some investors. SEC filing: Susan J. Li sale
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing litigation and regulatory scrutiny — high‑profile U.S. trial over alleged social‑media harm and EU antitrust disputes — keep headline risk and potential compliance costs elevated. Reuters: social‑media trial Reuters: EU court adviser on antitrust
• Negative Sentiment: AI talent movement (e.g., OpenAI hiring a Meta researcher) and high ongoing capex projections (guidance points to elevated 2026 spending) are reminders that competition for talent and costly infrastructure could pressure margins before long‑term gains materialize. Reuters: OpenAI hires Meta researcher

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 926 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $652.68, for a total transaction of $604,381.68. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 17,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,121,014.52. This represents a 5.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $639.18, for a total transaction of $370,724.40. Following the sale, the director directly owned 5,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,200,374.26. The trade was a 10.38% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 103,837 shares of company stock valued at $66,356,760. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by 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.