Rockland Trust Co. Sells 2,162 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Rockland Trust Co. lowered its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,612 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 2,162 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 1.3% of Rockland Trust Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Rockland Trust Co.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $33,408,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Saxony Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 27.4% in the 4th quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC now owns 1,324 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $874,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Parkwoods Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. Parkwoods Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,056 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $697,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Lord & Richards Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Lord & Richards Wealth Management LLC now owns 743 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $491,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Stewardship Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Stewardship Advisors LLC now owns 945 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $624,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 25 LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 71.0% in the fourth quarter. 25 LLC now owns 1,077 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $711,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total value of $36,471,323.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $631.24, for a total value of $5,106,100.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 2,841 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,793,352.84. This represents a 74.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 160,931 shares of company stock worth $102,997,526. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META stock opened at $574.46 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.45 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a current ratio of 2.60. The business’s 50-day moving average is $637.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $659.06. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $479.80 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on META shares. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $1,117.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $930.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $843.57.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Launched new AI wearables — Meta expanded its Ray‑Ban smart‑glasses lineup (prescription Ray‑Ban Meta Blayzer Optics and Meta Scriber Optics), reinforcing the company’s push to monetize AI-powered consumer hardware and services. Meta Platforms, Inc. (META) Strengthens AI Strategy With New Glasses and Services
• Positive Sentiment: Moves into clinical VR with VA — Meta partnered with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to scale clinical-grade VR therapy in VA medical centers, signaling enterprise and regulated-market adoption for its VR/Quest platform. This can open non‑advertising revenue channels. Meta’s VA Partnership Puts Clinical VR Therapy In Meta Platforms Story
• Positive Sentiment: Building AI hardware capability — Meta’s Superintelligence Labs hired veteran engineer Rui Xu to lead hardware efforts, suggesting deeper investment in custom AI devices beyond glasses, which supports long‑term vertical integration for AI compute and products. Meta Superintelligence Labs is quietly building a hardware team
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo trims price target but stays constructive — Wells Fargo cut its PT to $765 (from $856) while maintaining an Overweight rating, reflecting confidence in long‑term AI upside despite nearer‑term uncertainty ahead of earnings. Ahead of Meta, Alphabet earnings, Wells Fargo keeps overweight, cuts PTs
• Neutral Sentiment: China signals support for lawful cross‑border deals — Beijing said it supports law‑abiding transnational tech deals after reports of a Meta review, offering potential clarity for any China‑related partnerships or supply arrangements. China says it supports law‑abiding transnational deals after reports of Meta deal review
• Negative Sentiment: Bay Area layoffs — Meta is cutting roughly 200 roles in the San Francisco Bay Area as it restructures teams while reallocating capital toward AI infrastructure; layoffs can be read as cost discipline but also highlight internal reshaping and near‑term workforce disruption. Meta’s Bay Area layoffs affect roughly 200 workers as company pours billions into AI infrastructure
• Negative Sentiment: Rising legal/regulatory risk — Recent court losses and challenges to Section 230 protections have increased litigation and regulatory uncertainty for Meta, which could lead to higher compliance costs, content moderation expense and potential liabilities. Meta, Google under attack as court cases bypass 30‑year‑old legal shieldWhat’s next for Meta in the wake of trial losses and layoffs?
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades and PT trims — Morgan Stanley cut its PT to $775 citing softer ad trends and Erste downgraded to Hold; analyst cuts increase selling pressure and shorten the runway for multiple near‑term catalysts. Morgan Stanley trims PT on Meta Platforms (META) to $775 amid softer advertising backdropMeta Platforms was downgraded by Erste Group Bank AG

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.