Advisors Asset Management Inc. Boosts Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 155,424 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 979 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.9% of Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $114,140,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 42.6% in the second quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 67 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth $59,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Large multiyear chip deal with NVIDIA — Meta agreed to buy millions of NVIDIA GPUs and adopt NVIDIA CPUs, networking and rack-scale designs, securing chip supply and lowering future latency/costs for its AI data centers; this is the primary driver of today’s upside. Nvidia to sell Meta millions of chips in multiyear deal
• Positive Sentiment: Deepened strategic alliance and codesign roadmap — coverage highlights a multigenerational NVIDIA–Meta pact (Rubin/Vera architectures, confidential computing) that supports Meta’s Personal Superintelligence vision and signals durable hardware demand. NVIDIA and Meta Deepen Their AI Alliance—and the Spending Numbers Are Enormous
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional buying and bullish hedge-fund activity — high-profile investors (reports about Bill Ackman and David Tepper) have increased exposure to Meta on its AI growth thesis, adding conviction behind the rally. Billionaire Bill Ackman Is Betting Big on AI David Tepper goes big on Micron, Meta and Alphabet
• Neutral Sentiment: Hardware/product roadmap noise — reports that Meta may debut a smartwatch in 2026 and ongoing XR ecosystem moves (third‑party “Made for Meta” partners) suggest product expansion but limited near-term revenue impact. Meta reboots smartwatch plan, aims debut in 2026
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling by senior execs — recent filings show substantial share sales by COO Javier Olivan and CFO Susan Li, which can signal portfolio liquidity-taking and add short-term selling pressure. Olivan SEC filing Li SEC filing
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and legal overhangs — CEO Mark Zuckerberg is testifying in a high‑profile youth‑addiction trial, Spain is probing AI-generated content on social platforms, and India is discussing age-based curbs; these risks could pressure user growth, ad targeting or incur fines. Zuckerberg faces questioning at youth addiction trial Spain to probe Meta, TikTok, X India discussing age-based restrictions
• Negative Sentiment: Massive CapEx and margin risk — coverage highlights Meta’s elevated 2026 capex plans (reported guidance as high as ~$115–$135B in some writeups), which fuels concern about near‑term margin pressure and capital intensity if AI monetization lags. Marketbeat: NVIDIA and Meta Deepen Their AI Alliance

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.6%

META stock opened at $643.22 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $479.80 and a 12 month high of $796.25. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $656.60 and its 200 day moving average is $691.28. The company has a market capitalization of $1.63 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 2.60.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $59.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.33 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $8.02 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 price target for the company. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $810.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $844.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the 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 transaction, the director directly owned 5,587 shares in the company, valued at $3,454,330.36. This represents a 9.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 629 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $639.18, for a total transaction of $402,044.22. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 2,942 shares in the company, valued at $1,880,467.56. This trade represents a 17.61% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,158 shares of company stock worth $12,992,197. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.