Hartford Investment Management Co. Sells 3,904 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Hartford Investment Management Co. lessened its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 127,072 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 3,904 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 2.8% of Hartford Investment Management Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $93,319,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.4% during the second quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 3,506 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,587,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. Hemington Wealth Management lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.6% in the second quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 2,223 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,641,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co of the South boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 1,850 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,359,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Sentinel Pension Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.6% during the third quarter. Sentinel Pension Advisors LLC now owns 915 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $672,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management now owns 4,301 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,159,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square disclosed a roughly $2 billion (~10% of the fund) stake, calling META undervalued and an AI beneficiary — a high-profile endorsement that can attract other institutional buyers and supports the stock’s AI-growth narrative. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Hardware traction: EssilorLuxottica said it more than tripled sales of Meta AI (Ray‑Ban) glasses in 2025 — evidence Reality Labs products can scale and help diversify revenue beyond ads if growth continues. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Meta broke ground on a $10 billion Indiana data center to boost AI compute capacity — a multi-year investment that strengthens ad/AI infrastructure but increases near-term capex. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Large institutional buys: Fisher Asset Management and other funds boosted Meta stakes, reinforcing demand from money managers. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider activity: COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares (~$343k) — a small reduction in holdings that is typical for executives and not large enough alone to signal strategic concerns. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Operational progress: Market commentary highlights Reality Labs refocus (glasses/wearables), business‑messaging revenue up ~54%, and AI-driven productivity gains for engineers — signs management is converting AI investments into ad growth and internal efficiency. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/headwinds: Russian authorities removed WhatsApp from an official directory, effectively blocking the service for ~100M users — a material user/access disruption and negative for engagement in that market. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Legal and reputational risk: Ongoing trials and testimony accusing Meta of enabling harm (including addiction/child‑safety claims) increase litigation risk and could pressure sentiment or lead to fines/operational changes. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Smaller legal loss: A German court ordered a Meta subsidiary to pay ~€30M to Deutsche Telekom — modest financially but a reminder of regional disputes that can add costs and distractions. Article Title

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META stock opened at $668.69 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $479.80 and a 12-month high of $796.25. The firm has a market cap of $1.69 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a 50 day moving average of $658.54 and a 200-day moving average of $694.25. 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 (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 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $8.02 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $860.00 price target (up from $750.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Benchmark cut Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $810.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $730.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $845.50.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.35, for a total value of $365,610.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,347 shares in the company, valued at $4,476,894.45. This represents a 7.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 11,690 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.31, for a total transaction of $6,935,793.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 2,415 shares in the company, valued at $1,432,843.65. The trade was a 82.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 39,078 shares of company stock valued at $24,016,453. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

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.