Cadence Bank Reduces Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Cadence Bank lowered its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 29.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,212 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,356 shares during the period. Cadence Bank’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,359,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. FreeGulliver LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 258.2% during the third quarter. FreeGulliver LLC now owns 2,063 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,515,000 after buying an additional 1,487 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 148.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 86,971 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $63,870,000 after acquiring an additional 51,948 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 264,996 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $194,608,000 after purchasing an additional 12,297 shares during the last quarter. Pacific Sun Financial Corp grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.5% in the third quarter. Pacific Sun Financial Corp now owns 3,298 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,422,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banco BTG Pactual S.A. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 28.2% in the third quarter. Banco BTG Pactual S.A. now owns 59,215 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $43,486,000 after purchasing an additional 13,022 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, December 29th. Guggenheim boosted 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. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $810.00 to $885.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $800.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Scotiabank raised 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $844.44.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is rolling out new Meta AI features for Facebook Marketplace (automated listing creation and pricing) that help monetize its ads/commerce funnel and show ongoing productization of AI. Meta AI Writes Listings and Sets Prices for Facebook Marketplace Sellers
• Positive Sentiment: Meta outlined an aggressive in‑house chip roadmap (MTIA series) focused on generative AI inference — this could lower long‑term inference costs and improve margins if deployed at scale. Meta Chip Roadmap Puts AI Inference And Costs In Sharper Focus
• Positive Sentiment: Several bullish takeaways: fund managers cite Meta’s cost discipline and scale as advantages, and some analysts/notes argue the stock is attractively valued among large cap AI beneficiaries. These views provide a counterweight to short‑term AI execution concerns. Cuggino likes Meta for cost discipline
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider selling: COO Javier Olivan disclosed sales in early March (files show multiple transactions). Sizeable insider sales can draw attention but don’t necessarily signal company fundamentals. SEC filing – Olivan insider sale
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory scrutiny continues in the U.K. around child safety on platforms — a recurring policy risk that can affect product rollouts and compliance costs but is broadly anticipated by investors. UK watchdogs press Meta to block children
• Negative Sentiment: Avocado delay: Multiple outlets report Meta pushed the Avocado launch from this month to at least May after performance concerns, prompting investor worry about missed timelines and competitive positioning vs. Google/OpenAI. Meta Delays Rollout of New A.I. Model After Performance Concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction & scrutiny: Reports highlight that the delay increases scrutiny of Meta’s multibillion‑dollar AI investments and raises the risk of competitors pulling ahead, pressuring sentiment and the stock near term. Meta delays rollout of new AI model, NYT reports
• Negative Sentiment: Additional coverage frames the pause as a potential strategic cost — analysts and commentary ask whether Meta can afford to wait while rivals sprint ahead, amplifying short‑term downside risk. Avocado on Ice: Can Meta Afford to Pause?

Meta Platforms Stock Down 3.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $613.71 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $653.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $677.91. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $479.80 and a 52 week high of $796.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a current ratio of 2.60. The company has a market cap of $1.55 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.30.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $58.33 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 30.08%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $8.02 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 (DPR) is 8.94%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,461 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Sunday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $639.77, for a total transaction of $1,574,473.97. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 12,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,746,335.16. This trade represents a 16.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,793,352.84. This represents a 74.01% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 161,446 shares of company stock valued at $103,451,688. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.