Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Reduces Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 33.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 59,327 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 29,520 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $39,161,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $64,158,971,000 after acquiring an additional 1,650,435 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 39,247,690 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $28,823,375,000 after purchasing an additional 278,180 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth $23,155,393,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,153,754 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $12,597,374,000 after purchasing an additional 142,229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 1.8% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,489,621 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $10,694,644,000 after purchasing an additional 262,550 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $860.00 price objective (up from $750.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $910.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $846.63.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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 Stock Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $525.72 on Monday. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $479.80 and a twelve month high of $796.25. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $643.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $666.03. The firm has a market cap of $1.33 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.30.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its 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. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 30.08%.The company had revenue of $59.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $8.02 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.94%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 926 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $605.38, for a total transaction of $560,581.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 13,335 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,072,742.30. This represents a 6.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $632.02, for a total transaction of $366,571.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,797,952.54. The trade was a 11.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 161,967 shares of company stock worth $103,675,648 over the last quarter. Insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

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.