CWA Asset Management Group LLC Sells 4,434 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

CWA Asset Management Group LLC cut its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 7.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,282 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 4,434 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.3% of CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $35,831,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in META. Trust Co of the South lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 1,850 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,359,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Sentinel Pension Advisors LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sentinel Pension Advisors LLC now owns 915 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $672,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management grew its position in Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management now owns 4,301 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,159,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 454 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vista Capital Partners Inc. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the second quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $794,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. 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: Meta hired the Dreamer team (founders and engineers building an OS for AI agents) into its Meta Superintelligence Labs to accelerate personalized AI agents — bolsters Meta’s talent pool and product roadmap for agent-driven monetization and engagement. Meta Hires Former Google, Stripe Executives Behind AI Startup Dreamer
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Mark Zuckerberg is testing/building a “CEO agent” and Meta is rolling AI agents into executive workflows highlight internal productivity wins and faster product iteration — signals serious internal adoption that can accelerate feature rollouts and cost efficiencies. Meta’s Zuckerberg Creating a CEO Agent to Help With His Job
• Positive Sentiment: Meta published a multi‑phase in‑house AI chip roadmap (MTIA 300–500) and is leading optical interconnect efforts — moves intended to lower AI infrastructure costs and protect margins as GenAI demand grows. This is a longer‑term margin tailwind. Meta’s Custom AI Chips And Optical Links Reframe Long Term Margins
• Positive Sentiment: Meta is continuing capital returns with a quarterly dividend distribution this week, supporting yield-seeking investors and signaling excess cash generation. Meta to pay dividends this week; Here’s how much 100 shares will earn
• Neutral Sentiment: Oppenheimer reiterated a “perform” rating on META — maintains a neutral analyst stance that may cap upside until clearer conviction on growth/margins. Oppenheimer reiterates perform rating on Meta Platforms (META) stock
• Neutral Sentiment: OpenAI hired a former Meta executive to lead ad sales — highlights competition for ad dollars and talent but is not an immediate revenue hit for Meta. OpenAI hires former Meta executive to lead ad sales
• Negative Sentiment: A lawsuit alleges Meta targeted older workers in layoffs, adding litigation and reputational risk that could lead to remediation costs or settlements. Lawsuit Claims Meta Platforms Targeted Older Workers in Layoffs
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing trial activity (closing arguments expected in New Mexico) remains an overhang and a reminder of regulatory/legal exposure that can create episodic costs or operational distractions. Meta trial in New Mexico: Closing arguments expected Monday

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on META shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $730.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $849.00 to $856.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Four 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $846.63.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META opened at $603.80 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $648.46 and a 200-day moving average of $671.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 2.60. The company has a market capitalization of $1.53 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.30. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $479.80 and a 1 year high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $8.02 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.94%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the firm’s 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 owned 4,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,797,952.54. This trade represents a 11.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 629 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $632.02, for a total value of $397,540.58. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 2,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,715,302.28. The trade was a 18.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 160,929 shares of company stock worth $103,074,540 over the last three months. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.