JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd Increases Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd boosted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 36.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 235,586 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 62,640 shares during the period. JARISLOWSKY FRASER Ltd’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $173,010,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth $30,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 237.5% during the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, WFA Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 42.6% in the second quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 67 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $653.06 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.65 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $641.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $703.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $479.80 and a 52-week high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.89% and a return on equity of 39.35%. The firm had revenue of $51.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.34 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.03 EPS. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 9.28%.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Secured multi?gigawatt nuclear power deals (Vistra, TerraPower, Oklo) to supply Meta’s Prometheus AI data center — long?dated agreements help lock in reliable, low?carbon capacity for heavy AI compute and reduce power?supply risk for future growth. Meta strikes nuclear power agreements with three companies
• Positive Sentiment: Nuclear deals receive broad coverage (TechCrunch, Bloomberg) and have already lifted shares of partners (Oklo, Vistra) — a signal markets view the agreements as material to Meta’s AI infrastructure buildout and future margins. Meta signs deals with three nuclear companies for 6+ GW
• Positive Sentiment: Strong demand signals for Meta’s Ray?Ban Display AI glasses — company paused international rollout because U.S. demand outstripped limited inventory, which supports upside for Reality Labs if Meta can scale production. Meta’s New AI Glasses See “Unprecedented Demand”
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst activity mixed but constructive: some price targets trimmed (Guggenheim lowered its target) yet many firms retain Buy/Outperform views given AI growth and healthy fundamentals — watch updates for guidance impact. Guggenheim price target note
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory risk in China — Beijing announced a probe/assessment of Meta’s ~$2B Manus acquisition to check export/security compliance; this creates near?term transaction uncertainty and geopolitical headline risk. China to assess/investigate Manus deal
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: COO Javier Oliván disclosed small, regular share sales — routine but sometimes interpreted by market participants as a mild near?term negative signal. SEC filing: Javier Oliván sale

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $658.69, for a total value of $341,860.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 28,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,876,738.02. This represents a 1.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $650.41, for a total value of $336,261.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 11,683 shares in the company, valued at $7,598,740.03. The trade was a 4.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 41,555 shares of company stock worth $25,869,502. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wedbush reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $920.00 to $880.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $750.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $822.89.

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.