Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Acquired by Perennial Advisors LLC

Perennial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 9.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 17,949 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,587 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 2.0% of Perennial Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Perennial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $11,848,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at about $23,155,393,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 73,443.1% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,417,003 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,212,506,000 after acquiring an additional 8,405,558 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $64,158,971,000 after acquiring an additional 1,650,435 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth approximately $1,191,175,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 192,591,101 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $142,149,566,000 after acquiring an additional 1,532,568 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on META shares. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $872.00 price objective (up from $830.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $1,117.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $846.63.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $632.02, for a total value of $366,571.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,797,952.54. This represents a 11.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 926 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $605.38, for a total value of $560,581.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 13,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,072,742.30. This trade represents a 6.49% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 162,484 shares of company stock worth $104,015,906. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Entergy revised its Louisiana data-center deal with Meta so Meta will pay full cost-of-service and fund local energy upgrades (including seven natural‑gas plants), reducing project/regulatory risk for the hyperscale build. Entergy revised Meta data-center deal (Reuters)
• Positive Sentiment: Some sell‑the‑news rhetoric has created value opportunities: analysts point to cheaper valuation metrics and upgraded EPS forecasts, with commentators highlighting potential cost-savings from restructuring. Meta Platforms: Lean Into The Fear (Seeking Alpha)
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is aggressively doubling down on AI infrastructure (Arm CPU initiative, large new data‑center programs) — a long‑term strategic positive for AI monetization but a near‑term cash drain that fuels investor uncertainty. Meta deepens AI strategy with new Arm CPU initiative (Zacks)
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta paid its first 2026 dividend ($0.525/share) — a modest income signal to investors but not material to the valuation story. Meta paid dividend (Finbold)
• Negative Sentiment: Two recent jury verdicts (including a $375M award and punitive damages from a social‑media addiction case) have raised the prospect of broader legal liability, regulatory changes and appeals that could increase future costs and compliance expenses. Meta shares slip after US jury verdicts (Reuters)
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction: Meta joins a tech selloff this week (Nasdaq weakness), with share price declines of double‑digit percentages from recent highs as investors factor in litigation risk and margin pressure from AI capex. Tech stocks suffer worst week in nearly a year (CNBC)
• Negative Sentiment: Several outlets report steep intraday drops and heavy option activity as traders reposition; headlines argue the verdicts could trigger follow‑on litigation or regulatory remedies that resemble a “Big Tobacco”‑style reckoning. Meta stock plunges after lawsuit defeats (Blockonomi)

Meta Platforms Trading Down 4.0%

Shares of META stock opened at $525.72 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $479.80 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $643.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $667.32. The stock has a market cap of $1.33 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.30.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released 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 net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The company 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 business earned $8.02 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Meta Platforms 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.