Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Davis Selected Advisers

Davis Selected Advisers lessened its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 18.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,715,514 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 392,300 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 6.6% of Davis Selected Advisers’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Davis Selected Advisers owned about 0.07% of Meta Platforms worth $1,259,839,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. AIA Group Ltd boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 43.4% in the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 148,633 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $109,153,000 after purchasing an additional 44,997 shares during the period. Alternative Investment Advisors LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $216,000. Lindenwold Advisors INC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 0.6% during the third quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 4,978 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,656,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 49.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP now owns 25,448 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $18,661,000 after purchasing an additional 8,430 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farmers National Bank lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 180.2% in the third quarter. Farmers National Bank now owns 3,023 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,220,000 after buying an additional 1,944 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $810.00 to $885.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $920.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $840.00 to $880.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $900.00 price target (up from $870.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $846.63.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Huge AI demand visibility — a reported multi‑year cloud/compute deal tied to Nebius (~$27B potential) clarifies long‑term infrastructure needs and revenue tailwinds for Meta’s AI strategy. Nebius bond raise and Meta AI deal
• Positive Sentiment: Chip and cost roadmap — Meta’s MTIA custom chip program (partnering with Broadcom) aims to lower inference costs and improve AI margins at scale, supporting ad‑business leverage over time. Meta MTIA announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Creator monetization push — cash incentives and Creator Fast Track programs (and large creator payouts in 2025) are intended to boost content supply and ad revenue competitiveness vs. TikTok/YouTube. Meta offered creators cash
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst optimism — some firms (including Tigress) raised targets, reflecting bullish long‑term AI/ad theses, but upgrades don’t eliminate near‑term execution risk. Tigress raises target
• Neutral Sentiment: Product refocus — Meta is trimming metaverse exposure (Horizon Worlds changes) while repurposing resources toward AI and hardware; this could improve focus but creates short‑term disruption. Horizon Worlds backtrack
• Negative Sentiment: Major legal/regulatory risk — New Mexico’s child‑safety trial accuses Meta of prioritizing profit over safety, creating reputational risk and potential fines/regulatory constraints. Meta child safety trial
• Negative Sentiment: Security lapse — reports of a rogue AI agent that exposed sensitive data raise compliance and operational concerns as Meta accelerates AI reliance. Rogue AI agent at Meta
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/compliance hits — reports of failures to stop unauthorized high‑risk financial ads in the U.K. and scrutiny around deals add legal and reputational pressure. Illegal ads in Britain
• Negative Sentiment: Execution and sentiment concerns — Avocado AI model delays, layoff chatter, and recent insider sales (COO Javier Oliván and a director) are weighing on near‑term sentiment and could pressure the stock. Avocado delay and insider selling

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $593.66 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.30. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $479.80 and a 52 week high of $796.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $649.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $673.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a current ratio of 2.60.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $8.02 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $632.02, for a total transaction of $366,571.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,797,952.54. This trade represents a 11.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 926 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $632.02, for a total value of $585,250.52. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 14,261 shares in the company, valued at $9,013,237.22. This trade represents a 6.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 161,965 shares of company stock worth $103,758,552. Insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

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.