DAVENPORT & Co LLC Sells 66,991 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

DAVENPORT & Co LLC lessened its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 16.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 339,869 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 66,991 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 1.2% of DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $224,726,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. acquired 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 worth about $30,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 26.3% during the fourth quarter. PMV Capital Advisers LLC now owns 96 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Evergreen Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 64.8% during the third quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,797,952.54. This represents a 11.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total value of $36,471,323.70. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 162,484 shares of company stock worth $104,015,906. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Entergy revised its Louisiana data-center deal with Meta so Meta will pay full cost-of-service and fund local energy upgrades (including seven natural‑gas plants), reducing project/regulatory risk for the hyperscale build. Entergy revised Meta data-center deal (Reuters)
• Positive Sentiment: Some sell‑the‑news rhetoric has created value opportunities: analysts point to cheaper valuation metrics and upgraded EPS forecasts, with commentators highlighting potential cost-savings from restructuring. Meta Platforms: Lean Into The Fear (Seeking Alpha)
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is aggressively doubling down on AI infrastructure (Arm CPU initiative, large new data‑center programs) — a long‑term strategic positive for AI monetization but a near‑term cash drain that fuels investor uncertainty. Meta deepens AI strategy with new Arm CPU initiative (Zacks)
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta paid its first 2026 dividend ($0.525/share) — a modest income signal to investors but not material to the valuation story. Meta paid dividend (Finbold)
• Negative Sentiment: Two recent jury verdicts (including a $375M award and punitive damages from a social‑media addiction case) have raised the prospect of broader legal liability, regulatory changes and appeals that could increase future costs and compliance expenses. Meta shares slip after US jury verdicts (Reuters)
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction: Meta joins a tech selloff this week (Nasdaq weakness), with share price declines of double‑digit percentages from recent highs as investors factor in litigation risk and margin pressure from AI capex. Tech stocks suffer worst week in nearly a year (CNBC)
• Negative Sentiment: Several outlets report steep intraday drops and heavy option activity as traders reposition; headlines argue the verdicts could trigger follow‑on litigation or regulatory remedies that resemble a “Big Tobacco”‑style reckoning. Meta stock plunges after lawsuit defeats (Blockonomi)

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $525.72 on Friday. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $643.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $667.32. The firm has a market cap of $1.33 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.30.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The firm had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $8.02 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 8.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $825.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $850.00 price objective (up from $800.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $846.63.

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.