Midwest Trust Co Decreases Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Midwest Trust Co lessened its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 130,691 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 999 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 1.2% of Midwest Trust Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Midwest Trust Co’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $95,977,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goldstone Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 44.4% during the third quarter. Goldstone Financial Group LLC now owns 3,752 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,756,000 after buying an additional 1,153 shares in the last quarter. CW Advisors LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 27.8% during the 2nd quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 176,762 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $130,467,000 after acquiring an additional 38,432 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 34.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 52,252 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $38,373,000 after acquiring an additional 13,311 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 11.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 210,526 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $155,387,000 after purchasing an additional 20,912 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 84,687 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $62,507,000 after purchasing an additional 4,473 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction, the director directly owned 6,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,983,882. This represents a 8.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 10,478 shares of company stock worth $6,799,696. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of META opened at $639.29 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.62 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $479.80 and a 1 year 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 company’s 50-day simple moving average is $656.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $691.62.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.16 by $0.72. The firm had revenue of $59.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.33 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $8.02 EPS. Analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the subject of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $900.00 price target (up previously from $870.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $910.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $872.00 price target (up previously from $830.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $850.00 price objective (up from $800.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $840.00 to $880.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $844.29.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta struck a multiyear deal to buy millions of Nvidia AI chips (GPUs and new standalone CPUs) to power its data‑center and AI stack, accelerating its ability to deploy large models and AI features across apps (WhatsApp cited). This reduces execution risk for Meta’s AI roadmap and supports revenue upside from AI-driven ad/product improvements. Nvidia to sell Meta millions of chips in multiyear deal
• Positive Sentiment: Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square has made a large, high‑profile investment in Meta, signaling smart‑money conviction that the stock is undervalued given its AI growth potential; this can lift investor sentiment and attract other institutional buyers. Meta’s Platforms’ New Bull: Why Billionaire Bill Ackman Is Buying
• Positive Sentiment: Supply‑chain/infra tailwind: reporting highlights a large Meta partnership with Corning (reported ~$6B deal to outfit data centers). That supports Meta’s capex plans for data‑center expansion and underpins investments tied to AI workloads. Corning’s Surprise AI Boom
• Neutral Sentiment: Third‑party ecosystem news: Virtuix announced its Omni One treadmill will be Made for Meta (Quest) certified, expanding XR ecosystem engagement — a positive for product stickiness but unlikely to move Meta’s top line materially near term. Virtuix Omni One to Launch Compatibility with Meta Quest Headsets
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/legal risk: Spain has asked prosecutors to probe X, Meta and TikTok over AI‑generated images allegedly involving minors, increasing legal/PR risk and potential compliance costs or fines tied to AI content moderation. That raises near‑term regulatory uncertainty for Meta’s platforms. Spain to Probe X, Meta, TikTok Over AI Images
• Negative Sentiment: Market/regulatory risk in India: Indian officials are discussing age‑based social‑media restrictions that could meaningfully affect user reach and ad monetization in one of Meta’s largest markets, increasing policy risk and potential future revenue impact. India discussing age-based restrictions with social media firms, top minister says

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.