HB Wealth Management LLC Grows Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

HB Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 17.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 87,911 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,020 shares during the quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $64,560,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at $30,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 237.5% in the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, WFA Asset Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 42.6% in 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. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 2.5%

NASDAQ META opened at $615.52 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $1.55 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.19, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.29. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $479.80 and a 12 month high of $796.25. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $641.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $701.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.51. The company had revenue of $51.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.89% and a return on equity of 39.35%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.03 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast 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 was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 9.28%.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Big‑tech energy deals reduce a major execution risk for Meta’s AI/data‑center buildout — Meta signed prepayment/partner arrangements (e.g., Oklo) that de‑risk long‑term baseload power for its compute expansion, which supports the Meta Compute plan. Oklo’s Meta Deal De-Risks the Story—Rebound Setup Emerging
• Positive Sentiment: Additional nuclear partnerships (Terrapower reports) signal Meta is securing long‑term, reliable power — important as Meta scales “tens/hundreds of gigawatts” for AI. Bill Gates’ Terrapower to supply Meta Platforms with nuclear reactors
• Positive Sentiment: Demand signals for AI wearables: Meta and EssilorLuxottica are discussing ramping Ray‑Ban Meta smart glasses output, supporting the company’s pivot to AI devices and potential revenue diversification beyond advertising. Meta mulls doubling output of Ray-Ban glasses by year end
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst bullishness: a couple of firms reaffirmed/raised targets (Rosenblatt, TD Cowen), indicating upside expectation if Meta’s AI investments pay off.
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta Compute initiative outlines a massive data‑center/data‑power capex path to own AI infrastructure — strategically positive long term but increases near‑term capital intensity and execution risk. Meta Compute: Inside Zuckerberg’s Massive Data Center Bet
• Neutral Sentiment: Quarterly release scheduled after the close on Jan. 28 — upcoming results and guidance will be a key catalyst for the next leg of the stock’s move. Meta to Announce Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Results
• Negative Sentiment: Reality Labs layoffs (~1,500 jobs, ~10% of division) signal contraction of metaverse ambitions and larger restructuring; while this cuts costs, it raises near‑term execution and product risks for VR/metaverse roadmap. Meta Lays Off 1,500 People in Metaverse Division
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades and pessimistic forecasts (some outlets reporting cuts in sentiment and price targets) are pressuring the stock amid concerns about very large 2026 capex guidance and falling free‑cash‑flow. Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Meta Platforms
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: COO Javier Olivan disclosed a sale (~517 shares) which, paired with other negative headlines, can amplify short‑term selling pressure. SEC Filing: Javier Olivan sale
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/legal risks persist (e.g., Brazil/WhatsApp orders and appeals) that could add litigation or compliance costs in key markets. Meta, WhatsApp approach Supreme Court against NCLAT decision

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,610 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Saturday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.46, for a total transaction of $1,590,690.60. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 9,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,962,956.64. This trade represents a 21.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 726 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $591.60, for a total transaction of $429,501.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,570,306. This trade represents a 10.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 40,571 shares of company stock worth $25,137,541 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on META shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $815.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $1,117.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $810.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $875.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $822.96.

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.