Diversify Advisory Services LLC Purchases 29,390 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 53.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 84,821 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 29,390 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 2.1% of Diversify Advisory Services LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Diversify Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $62,291,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth $26,000. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth approximately $44,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth $59,000. Finally, Evergreen Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 64.8% in the 3rd quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on META shares. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Arete Research restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Argus restated a “buy” rating and set a $800.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $900.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Three investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $844.44.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 2.5%

META stock opened at $638.18 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.61 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $479.80 and a 52 week high of $796.25. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $653.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $678.88.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.16 by $0.72. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 30.08%.The firm had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.33 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $8.02 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. 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 firm also recently announced 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 (DPR) is presently 8.94%.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta unveiled a roadmap for four new in‑house AI chips (MTIA 300/400/450/500) aimed at inference workloads and faster iterative deployments — a long‑term win for gross‑margin control and scalability if Meta can reduce third‑party hardware spend. Meta Chip Roadmap Puts AI Inference And Costs In Sharper Focus
• Positive Sentiment: Facebook Marketplace rolled out Meta AI features that auto‑write listings and suggest prices — these product improvements can increase seller throughput and ad/commerce monetization. Meta AI Writes Listings and Sets Prices for Facebook Marketplace Sellers
• Positive Sentiment: Meta expanded AI‑driven scam detection across Facebook, WhatsApp and Messenger, which helps reduce fraud liability and could improve user trust and engagement. Meta Rolls Out New Scam Alerts Across Facebook, WhatsApp, and Messenger
• Positive Sentiment: Investor endorsement: Michael Cuggino cited Meta as an AI pick for its cost discipline — a vote of confidence that may support long‑term investor sentiment. Cuggino likes Meta for cost discipline
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts at Evercore flagged that large internet names (including Meta) may be oversold amid AI/geopolitical worries — this could imply a rebound if sentiment stabilizes. Amazon, Uber, and Other Internet Stocks Look Too Cheap After AI and Iran Worries
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta acquired Moltbook, a niche social network for AI agents — strategically relevant for agent research but commercially unproven; more of a signal on R&D direction than immediate revenue impact. Meta to acquire Moltbook, the social network for AI agents
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: COO Javier Olivan reduced holdings in recent SEC filings — such sizable insider disposals can spook short‑term investors even if routine. Insider sale filing
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory risk: UK regulators and lawmakers are pressing big tech (including Meta) to do more to keep children off platforms — potential for stricter rules or compliance costs in key markets. UK watchdogs press Meta, TikTok, Snap and YouTube to block children
• Negative Sentiment: Public skepticism on costs: Commentary (e.g., Jim Cramer) asking why Meta retains ~78k employees if AI boosts productivity raises investor questions about future headcount, restructuring and near‑term cost cuts. Cramer: Why does Meta need 78,000 employees if AI makes them 10x more productive?
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction note: coverage flagged that Meta fell more than the broader market on the latest session — signaling profit‑taking or short‑term risk aversion despite the strategic positives. Here’s Why Meta Platforms (META) Fell More Than Broader Market

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $631.24, for a total value of $5,106,100.36. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 2,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,793,352.84. This trade represents a 74.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total transaction of $36,471,323.70. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 161,446 shares of company stock valued at $103,451,688 in the last three months. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.