Country Trust Bank Increases Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Country Trust Bank raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 15.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 162,273 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 21,715 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 1.9% of Country Trust Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Country Trust Bank’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $107,115,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Dorato Capital Management purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $62,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 26.3% during the 4th quarter. PMV Capital Advisers LLC now owns 96 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 64.8% during the 3rd quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, eCIO Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $66,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Industry forecasts say Meta could overtake Google as the world’s largest digital-ad company in 2026, boosting revenue growth expectations and advertiser leverage. Meta poised to surpass Google in digital ad revenue for first time, report says
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s new AI model (Muse Spark) launch is being cited as a key catalyst — investors see product differentiation, ad targeting improvements and longer-term monetization upside from AI investments. Meta Platforms Finally Releases Muse Spark. Is the AI Model Worth the Wait?
• Positive Sentiment: Unity extended a multi-year platform support and enterprise agreement with Meta, reinforcing VR/AR partnerships that support long-term Metaverse/Reality Labs opportunities. Unity and Meta Extend Multi-Year Platform Support and Enterprise Agreement
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta will report Q1 2026 results after the market close on April 29; upcoming guidance and ad/AI metrics will likely drive near-term volatility. Meta to Announce First Quarter 2026 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Retail/investor attention is elevated (search and coverage spikes), which can amplify moves around earnings and sector news. Investors Heavily Search Meta Platforms, Inc. (META)
• Negative Sentiment: Several analysts trimmed price targets (Stifel, Wolfe, KeyCorp), which can cap upside and signal more cautious near-term expectations despite buy ratings. Stifel Nicolaus lowers META price target
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory pressure: the Philippines and U.S. state attorneys general have pushed Meta to curb panic-inducing or scam content, creating potential compliance costs and reputational risk. Philippines Orders Meta to Tighten Measures Against ‘Panic-Inducing’ Fake News NY AG warns of social media investment scams on Meta platforms
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Meta is developing a photoreal AI “clone” of CEO Mark Zuckerberg for staff interactions raise privacy and governance concerns that could attract scrutiny. Meta is building a creepy AI clone of Mark Zuckerberg to chat with staff: report

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 value of $366,571.60. Following the completion of 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 SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 926 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $605.38, for a total transaction of $560,581.88. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 13,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,072,742.30. This trade represents a 6.49% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 160,414 shares of company stock worth $102,659,925. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Argus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $800.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $775.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $910.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $837.72.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of META stock opened at $634.53 on Tuesday. 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 has a market capitalization of $1.61 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.00, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $627.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $652.48.

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, topping 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 business had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $8.02 EPS. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.94%.

About Meta Platforms

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.