Candriam S.C.A. Has $232.16 Million Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Candriam S.C.A. lowered its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 11.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 316,132 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 41,777 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 1.2% of Candriam S.C.A.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $232,161,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of META. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth $42,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth $44,000. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 42.6% in the 2nd quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 67 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth $59,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $920.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $810.00 to $885.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $910.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $835.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Argus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $800.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $845.50.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $646.00, for a total value of $374,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,983,882. The trade was a 8.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $661.11, for a total value of $341,793.87. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 12,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,407,335.87. This trade represents a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 10,478 shares of company stock valued at $6,799,696 over the last three months. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bill Ackman has made a very large new investment in Meta — described as a multi-billion-dollar (reported ~$1–2B) stake — and called the shares “deeply discounted,” sparking renewed investor demand. Ackman’s $2B Bet
• Positive Sentiment: Media/analyst pieces highlight Meta as a top AI/advertising platform with diversified revenue streams, reinforcing the long-term growth argument tied to AI-driven ad demand. Billionaire Bill Ackman Reveals New Position
• Positive Sentiment: Barron’s reports strong traction for Meta’s smart glasses (7M+ pairs sold in 2025), highlighting a growing hardware/reality‑compute revenue stream that could expand monetization beyond ads. Meta Is the Winner in Smart Glasses
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple asset managers have recently increased Meta positions (examples include Bowie Capital, Night Owl, Causeway, Columbus Hill), signaling continued institutional interest. Bowie Capital Boosts Meta Stake
• Neutral Sentiment: Philippe Laffont (Scion) lists Meta among his top holdings, reflecting concentrated hedge-fund exposure but not an immediate catalyst. Is Meta Platforms Philippe Laffont’s Top Pick?
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage notes Ackman rotated assets (sold Hilton) into AI bets including Meta and Amazon — shows conviction but is part of broader portfolio moves. Ackman Sold Hilton and Bought AI Stock
• Negative Sentiment: White House adviser Peter Navarro said the administration may force data-center builders to “internalize” utility costs — a policy risk that could raise Meta’s operating and capital costs for AI infrastructure. Trump trade adviser Navarro says administration may force data center builders like Meta to ‘internalize’ costs
• Negative Sentiment: Some managers trimmed Meta (Abrams Capital trimmed shares), a reminder that profit-taking and rebalancing are occurring even amid buy-side interest. Abrams Capital Trims Meta Stake

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.5%

NASDAQ:META opened at $639.77 on Tuesday. 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 12-month low of $479.80 and a 12-month high of $796.25. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $657.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $692.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.62 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.28.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $8.02 EPS. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

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.