Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Holdings Decreased by Shell Asset Management Co.

Shell Asset Management Co. trimmed its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 75.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,838 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 84,755 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 2.1% of Shell Asset Management Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $20,444,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 192,591,101 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $142,149,566,000 after buying an additional 1,532,568 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.9% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $64,158,971,000 after acquiring an additional 1,650,435 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 51,575,209 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $37,902,948,000 after acquiring an additional 682,768 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at $23,155,393,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,489,621 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $10,694,644,000 after purchasing an additional 262,550 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Secured multiyear GPU/CPU and codesign deal with NVIDIA that locks supply and a roadmap (Rubin/Vera, confidential computing) — this makes Meta’s AI rollout and large‑scale personalization (e.g., WhatsApp agents) more credible and is a primary driver of investor buying. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Latest results and marketing metrics show AI is improving ad efficiency — Q4 revenue and EPS beat and stronger ad metrics support the thesis that AI can monetize engagement and help justify infrastructure spend. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Large institutional/activist positioning (including Bill Ackman / Pershing Square and other funds adding stakes) is providing conviction behind the rally and reduces short‑term supply risk. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Horizon Worlds is being repositioned to mobile and explicitly decoupled from Quest VR — this reduces near‑term execution risk for Reality Labs but also signals less near‑term upside if VR hardware adoption stalls. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Product/ecosystem updates (revived smartwatch plans; third‑party “Made for Meta” integrations like Virtuix) expand the device roadmap but are unlikely to move core ad revenue near term. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Very large 2026 CapEx guidance (~$115–$135B) raises real margin and ROIC risk — if AI monetization lags, the spending could compress returns and leave Meta exposed to depreciating infrastructure. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Notable insider selling (COO, CFO and at least one director disclosed multi‑trade sales) can add short‑term supply and raises questions about timing of personal liquidity events. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing legal and child‑safety scrutiny (Zuckerberg testimony, PTA distancing, and public reporting on content/encryption tradeoffs) is an overhang that could affect user engagement, regulatory costs or ad targeting over time. Read More.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on META shares. Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $754.00 to $849.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $785.00 to $820.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Pivotal Research decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $930.00 to $910.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note 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 given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $844.29.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $655.66 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.66 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.90, a PEG ratio of 1.12 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, Inc. has a one year low of $479.80 and a one year high of $796.25. The business has a fifty day moving average of $656.67 and a 200 day moving average of $689.03.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $59.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.33 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 30.08%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $8.02 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 8.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,418 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Sunday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $639.77, for a total transaction of $4,106,043.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 73,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,924,570.42. The trade was a 8.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $639.18, for a total value of $370,724.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,200,374.26. This represents a 10.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 28,310 shares of company stock valued at $18,159,577. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.