Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by M&G PLC

M&G PLC decreased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 932,872 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 19,847 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 3.6% of M&G PLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. M&G PLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $684,728,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Key Stories Impacting 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.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $655.66 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $656.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $689.03. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.66 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.16 by $0.72. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The firm had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.33 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $8.02 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 8.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on META. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $910.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $754.00 to $849.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, November 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 price target for the company. Finally, Evercore raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $844.29.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 172 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $639.18, for a total transaction of $109,938.96. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 17,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,482,868.70. This represents a 0.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,418 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Sunday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $639.77, for a total value of $4,106,043.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 73,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,924,570.42. This represents a 8.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 28,310 shares of company stock worth $18,159,577. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.