PFG Advisors Buys 1,108 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

PFG Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 12.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,159 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 1,108 shares during the quarter. PFG Advisors’ holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $7,460,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of META. Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 53.0% in the 3rd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 84,821 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $62,291,000 after buying an additional 29,390 shares during the last quarter. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 7.7% during the third quarter. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,773 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,302,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. ProVise Management Group LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 7.2% during the third quarter. ProVise Management Group LLC now owns 21,674 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $15,917,000 after acquiring an additional 1,459 shares during the last quarter. Altman Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 49.8% during the third quarter. Altman Advisors Inc. now owns 6,445 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $4,733,000 after acquiring an additional 2,142 shares during the period. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 25.8% in the third quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 553,798 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $406,696,000 after purchasing an additional 113,485 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,461 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Sunday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $639.77, for a total transaction of $1,574,473.97. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 12,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,746,335.16. This represents a 16.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total transaction of $36,471,323.70. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 161,446 shares of company stock valued at $103,451,688 over the last quarter. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Pivotal Research lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $930.00 to $910.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $808.00 to $890.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $835.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 26th. Evercore increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $860.00 target price (up from $750.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Three investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $844.44.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $638.18 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $653.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $678.88. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $479.80 and a 1 year high of $796.25. 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 $1.61 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.30.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $59.89 billion during 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $8.02 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors 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 yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 8.94%.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta unveiled a roadmap for four new in‑house AI chips (MTIA 300/400/450/500) aimed at inference workloads and faster iterative deployments — a long‑term win for gross‑margin control and scalability if Meta can reduce third‑party hardware spend. Meta Chip Roadmap Puts AI Inference And Costs In Sharper Focus
• Positive Sentiment: Facebook Marketplace rolled out Meta AI features that auto‑write listings and suggest prices — these product improvements can increase seller throughput and ad/commerce monetization. Meta AI Writes Listings and Sets Prices for Facebook Marketplace Sellers
• Positive Sentiment: Meta expanded AI‑driven scam detection across Facebook, WhatsApp and Messenger, which helps reduce fraud liability and could improve user trust and engagement. Meta Rolls Out New Scam Alerts Across Facebook, WhatsApp, and Messenger
• Positive Sentiment: Investor endorsement: Michael Cuggino cited Meta as an AI pick for its cost discipline — a vote of confidence that may support long‑term investor sentiment. Cuggino likes Meta for cost discipline
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts at Evercore flagged that large internet names (including Meta) may be oversold amid AI/geopolitical worries — this could imply a rebound if sentiment stabilizes. Amazon, Uber, and Other Internet Stocks Look Too Cheap After AI and Iran Worries
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta acquired Moltbook, a niche social network for AI agents — strategically relevant for agent research but commercially unproven; more of a signal on R&D direction than immediate revenue impact. Meta to acquire Moltbook, the social network for AI agents
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: COO Javier Olivan reduced holdings in recent SEC filings — such sizable insider disposals can spook short‑term investors even if routine. Insider sale filing
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory risk: UK regulators and lawmakers are pressing big tech (including Meta) to do more to keep children off platforms — potential for stricter rules or compliance costs in key markets. UK watchdogs press Meta, TikTok, Snap and YouTube to block children
• Negative Sentiment: Public skepticism on costs: Commentary (e.g., Jim Cramer) asking why Meta retains ~78k employees if AI boosts productivity raises investor questions about future headcount, restructuring and near‑term cost cuts. Cramer: Why does Meta need 78,000 employees if AI makes them 10x more productive?
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction note: coverage flagged that Meta fell more than the broader market on the latest session — signaling profit‑taking or short‑term risk aversion despite the strategic positives. Here’s Why Meta Platforms (META) Fell More Than Broader Market

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.