Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Bought by Ransom Advisory Ltd

Ransom Advisory Ltd grew its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 305.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,070 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 3,065 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 1.1% of Ransom Advisory Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Ransom Advisory Ltd’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,687,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of META. Fulcrum Equity Management grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 105.1% during the fourth quarter. Fulcrum Equity Management now owns 1,846 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,219,000 after acquiring an additional 946 shares during the period. Farmers Trust Co. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 33.8% in the fourth quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 7,367 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $4,863,000 after acquiring an additional 1,861 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,397 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $14,784,000 after acquiring an additional 1,562 shares during the period. Barden Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Barden Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,712 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,790,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canal Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 399.5% during the 4th quarter. Canal Capital Management LLC now owns 5,449 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,597,000 after purchasing an additional 4,358 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on META. Evercore increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $800.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 26th. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $846.63.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $593.66 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $649.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $672.87. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $479.80 and a twelve month high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $58.33 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $8.02 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. 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: Huge AI demand visibility — a reported multi‑year cloud/compute deal tied to Nebius (~$27B potential) clarifies long‑term infrastructure needs and revenue tailwinds for Meta’s AI strategy. Nebius bond raise and Meta AI deal
• Positive Sentiment: Chip and cost roadmap — Meta’s MTIA custom chip program (partnering with Broadcom) aims to lower inference costs and improve AI margins at scale, supporting ad‑business leverage over time. Meta MTIA announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Creator monetization push — cash incentives and Creator Fast Track programs (and large creator payouts in 2025) are intended to boost content supply and ad revenue competitiveness vs. TikTok/YouTube. Meta offered creators cash
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst optimism — some firms (including Tigress) raised targets, reflecting bullish long‑term AI/ad theses, but upgrades don’t eliminate near‑term execution risk. Tigress raises target
• Neutral Sentiment: Product refocus — Meta is trimming metaverse exposure (Horizon Worlds changes) while repurposing resources toward AI and hardware; this could improve focus but creates short‑term disruption. Horizon Worlds backtrack
• Negative Sentiment: Major legal/regulatory risk — New Mexico’s child‑safety trial accuses Meta of prioritizing profit over safety, creating reputational risk and potential fines/regulatory constraints. Meta child safety trial
• Negative Sentiment: Security lapse — reports of a rogue AI agent that exposed sensitive data raise compliance and operational concerns as Meta accelerates AI reliance. Rogue AI agent at Meta
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/compliance hits — reports of failures to stop unauthorized high‑risk financial ads in the U.K. and scrutiny around deals add legal and reputational pressure. Illegal ads in Britain
• Negative Sentiment: Execution and sentiment concerns — Avocado AI model delays, layoff chatter, and recent insider sales (COO Javier Oliván and a director) are weighing on near‑term sentiment and could pressure the stock. Avocado delay and insider selling

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $632.02, for a total transaction of $366,571.60. Following the sale, the director owned 4,427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,797,952.54. This represents a 11.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 926 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $632.02, for a total value of $585,250.52. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 14,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,013,237.22. The trade was a 6.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 161,965 shares of company stock valued at $103,758,552. 13.61% of the stock is 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.