Meta Platforms, Inc. $META is Longbow Finance SA’s 5th Largest Position

Longbow Finance SA lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 55,627 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,471 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 4.0% of Longbow Finance SA’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Longbow Finance SA’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $40,851,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Goldstone Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 44.4% in the 3rd quarter. Goldstone Financial Group LLC now owns 3,752 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,756,000 after purchasing an additional 1,153 shares during the period. CW Advisors LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 27.8% during the 2nd quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 176,762 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $130,467,000 after purchasing an additional 38,432 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 34.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 52,252 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $38,373,000 after purchasing an additional 13,311 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 11.0% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 210,526 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $155,387,000 after buying an additional 20,912 shares during the period. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 5.6% during the second quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 84,687 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $62,507,000 after buying an additional 4,473 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,418 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Sunday, February 15th. The stock was 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 directly owned 73,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,924,570.42. This trade represents a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,461 shares of the business’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 $1,574,473.97. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 12,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,746,335.16. This represents a 16.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 20,738 shares of company stock valued at $13,362,921 in the last 90 days. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.2%

NASDAQ:META opened at $644.78 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.63 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $479.80 and a one year high of $796.25. 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 simple moving average is $656.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $690.96.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.16 by $0.72. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 30.08%.The company had revenue of $59.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $8.02 EPS. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 8.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on META. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $810.00 to $885.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $800.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 26th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Argus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $800.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $844.29.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Major NVIDIA multiyear deal — Meta signed a multigenerational agreement to buy millions of NVIDIA GPUs and adopt NVIDIA CPUs, networking and rack designs, strengthening its AI roadmap and securing long‑term supply for data‑center buildout. This deal underpins the rally as it reduces Meta’s hardware risk and accelerates product timelines. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Big investors leaning into the AI thesis — Reports (including 13F mentions) show some prominent funds increasing Meta exposure on the AI infrastructure/advertising opportunity, adding conviction to the upside. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Product roadmap shifts — Meta is refocusing Horizon Worlds toward mobile (less VR) and will shut down Messenger’s standalone website; these are strategic pivots that change execution risk but have limited immediate revenue impact. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling by senior executives — Multiple SEC filings show sizable recent sales by CFO Susan Li and COO Javier Olivan (and a director sale), which can create near‑term supply and market signaling concerns. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Staff equity cut to fund AI — Financial Times/Reuters report Meta trimmed annual equity awards by ~5% for most staff to reallocate dollars to AI buildout, highlighting cost tradeoffs and potential morale/retention implications. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Huge 2026 CapEx and margin risk — Coverage notes Meta’s elevated 2026 capex plan (reported guidance in the $115–$135B range) to build AI infrastructure; that spending fuels growth potential but increases short‑term margin and execution risk. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Legal/regulatory overhang — CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified in a landmark youth‑addiction trial that could influence future regulation, moderation costs, or advertising dynamics if outcomes impose new constraints. Read More.

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.