Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators Has $2.47 Million Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lessened its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 32.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,363 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,614 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 1.0% of Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators’ holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators’ holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,470,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth approximately $23,155,393,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 73,443.1% in 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 last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.9% in 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 last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 192,591,101 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $142,149,566,000 after purchasing an additional 1,532,568 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 103.5% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,998,624 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,475,166,000 after purchasing an additional 1,016,667 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on META. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $810.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $825.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $900.00 price target (up from $870.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Oppenheimer cut Meta Platforms from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $847.98.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 3.0%

NASDAQ META opened at $716.50 on Monday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $479.80 and a fifty-two 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. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $652.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $695.96. The stock has a market cap of $1.81 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.28.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.16 by $0.72. The firm had revenue of $59.89 billion for 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 business’s 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 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given 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 of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 8.94%.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat + AI narrative shift: Meta reported stronger?than?expected Q4 revenue and EPS and management framed ad strength as early proof that AI investments are improving monetization and engagement — a narrative some analysts now call an AI profit cycle. Meta’s Story Just Flipped — Seeking Alpha
• Positive Sentiment: Strong guidance & analyst upgrades: Q1 revenue guidance topped Street expectations and many firms raised price targets or reiterated buys, supporting the recent rally and giving institutional investors cover to support higher valuations. MarketBeat: Meta Soars After?Hours
• Neutral Sentiment: Business diversification tests: Meta is piloting premium subscriptions for Instagram/Facebook/WhatsApp and expanding AI features — potential long?term upside but unclear near?term revenue impact. CNBC: Premium subscription tests
• Neutral Sentiment: Supply deals validate buildout but signal capital intensity: large supplier agreements (e.g., with Corning) back the AI data?center plan while confirming heavy multi?year spending. CNBC: Corning deal
• Negative Sentiment: Massive 2026 CapEx: Management guided to $115B–$135B of capex for 2026 — far above prior levels — raising near?term cash intensity and margin dilution concerns despite management saying operating income should hold. Reuters: CapEx rise
• Negative Sentiment: Reality Labs drag: XR/Reality Labs continues to burn cash (multi?billion losses), creating an ongoing margin headwind and execution risk for non?ad businesses. TechCrunch: $19B VR burn
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory & reputational headlines: A New Mexico trial alleging platforms exposed minors to exploitation and reports about content?blocking controversies add legal and reputational risk that can pressure multiple?quarter sentiment. Reuters: New Mexico trial
• Negative Sentiment: Near?term profit?taking & headline noise: high short?term expectations after the rally, occasional pundit criticism (e.g., Jim Cramer) and small insider sales add to volatility and can push the stock down after its run. 247WallSt: Jim Cramer critique

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,875 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Saturday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.46, for a total value of $4,190,037.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 88,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,857,980.20. This trade represents a 7.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 11,690 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.31, for a total transaction of $6,935,793.90. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 2,415 shares in the company, valued at $1,432,843.65. This represents a 82.88% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 39,596 shares of company stock worth $24,281,890. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

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.