Bamco Inc. NY Has $194.71 Million Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Bamco Inc. NY lessened its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 265,135 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 7,924 shares during the quarter. Bamco Inc. NY’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $194,710,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Goldstone Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 44.4% during the third quarter. Goldstone Financial Group LLC now owns 3,752 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,756,000 after acquiring an additional 1,153 shares in the last quarter. CW Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 27.8% in the 2nd quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 176,762 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $130,467,000 after purchasing an additional 38,432 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $38,373,000 after purchasing an additional 13,311 shares during the last quarter. Cherokee Insurance Co bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,321,000. Finally, Becker Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,052 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $25,741,000 after purchasing an additional 1,657 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Pivotal Research dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $930.00 to $910.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $810.00 to $885.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $785.00 to $820.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Arete Research restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $844.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief technology officer owned 2,841 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,793,352.84. The trade was a 74.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 926 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $634.94, for a total value of $587,954.44. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 15,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,642,833.78. This trade represents a 5.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 161,446 shares of company stock worth $103,451,688. Insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 3.8%

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $613.71 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $653.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $677.38. The stock has a market cap of $1.55 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.30. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $479.80 and a 52-week 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.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $59.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $8.02 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 8.94%.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is rolling out new Meta AI features for Facebook Marketplace (automated listing creation and pricing) that help monetize its ads/commerce funnel and show ongoing productization of AI. Meta AI Writes Listings and Sets Prices for Facebook Marketplace Sellers
• Positive Sentiment: Meta outlined an aggressive in‑house chip roadmap (MTIA series) focused on generative AI inference — this could lower long‑term inference costs and improve margins if deployed at scale. Meta Chip Roadmap Puts AI Inference And Costs In Sharper Focus
• Positive Sentiment: Several bullish takeaways: fund managers cite Meta’s cost discipline and scale as advantages, and some analysts/notes argue the stock is attractively valued among large cap AI beneficiaries. These views provide a counterweight to short‑term AI execution concerns. Cuggino likes Meta for cost discipline
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider selling: COO Javier Olivan disclosed sales in early March (files show multiple transactions). Sizeable insider sales can draw attention but don’t necessarily signal company fundamentals. SEC filing – Olivan insider sale
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory scrutiny continues in the U.K. around child safety on platforms — a recurring policy risk that can affect product rollouts and compliance costs but is broadly anticipated by investors. UK watchdogs press Meta to block children
• Negative Sentiment: Avocado delay: Multiple outlets report Meta pushed the Avocado launch from this month to at least May after performance concerns, prompting investor worry about missed timelines and competitive positioning vs. Google/OpenAI. Meta Delays Rollout of New A.I. Model After Performance Concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction & scrutiny: Reports highlight that the delay increases scrutiny of Meta’s multibillion‑dollar AI investments and raises the risk of competitors pulling ahead, pressuring sentiment and the stock near term. Meta delays rollout of new AI model, NYT reports
• Negative Sentiment: Additional coverage frames the pause as a potential strategic cost — analysts and commentary ask whether Meta can afford to wait while rivals sprint ahead, amplifying short‑term downside risk. Avocado on Ice: Can Meta Afford to Pause?

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.