Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stock Holdings Boosted by HighPoint Advisor Group LLC

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 5.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 50,750 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 2,417 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 1.8% of HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $37,270,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 2,223 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,641,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Trust Co of the South boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Sentinel Pension Advisors LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sentinel Pension Advisors LLC now owns 915 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $672,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management raised its holdings in 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 valued at $3,159,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $639.77 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.62 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $479.80 and a 12 month high of $796.25. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $657.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $693.40.

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, topping 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 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 firm earned $8.02 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $618.28, for a total transaction of $358,602.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 5,587 shares in the company, valued at $3,454,330.36. This represents a 9.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $658.69, for a total value of $341,860.11. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 28,658 shares in the company, valued at $18,876,738.02. This trade represents a 1.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 24,530 shares of company stock valued at $15,150,029 over the last three months. Insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on META. Arete Research set a $718.00 price target on Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $920.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $930.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $860.00 price target (up from $750.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Citizens Jmp restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $900.00 price objective (up from $750.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Three equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $845.50.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: High‑profile institutional support: Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square has taken a multi‑billion dollar stake, signaling confidence in Meta’s AI pivot and likely attracting other institutional interest. Ackman stake
• Positive Sentiment: Strong fundamentals and analyst upside: Q4 earnings beat and bullish analyst notes (multiple price‑target raises and buy reiterations) support a constructive medium‑term view. Seeking Alpha bullish note
• Positive Sentiment: Hardware and AI investments showing early traction: Ray‑Ban AI glasses sales growth and Reality Labs repositioning give optionality beyond ads. Ray‑Ban sales
• Neutral Sentiment: Dividend declared: Meta announced a $0.525 quarterly dividend (small yield) — positive for income investors but modest versus total return expectations. Dividend PR
• Neutral Sentiment: Large capex for AI: Meta broke ground on a ~$10B data‑center campus to boost AI compute — strengthens long‑term ad/AI moat but raises near‑term capex. Data center Reuters
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider/ownership moves mixed: CEO/COO small routine sales and some funds trimming while others add — notable but not a clear directional signal alone. SEC filing
• Negative Sentiment: Privacy and reputational risk from facial‑recognition plans for Ray‑Ban AI glasses: Reports that Meta plans a “Name Tag” feature have triggered renewed privacy concerns and could draw regulatory scrutiny or user backlash. NYT facial recognition
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/access hit: Russia moved to block WhatsApp for ~100M users, a material engagement loss in that market. WhatsApp block
• Negative Sentiment: Legal and litigation noise: Ongoing trials and witness testimony alleging platform harm raise litigation/ reputational risk that can pressure sentiment and potentially cost fines or operational changes. Trial coverage

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.