Meta Platforms, Inc. $META is Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc.’s 4th Largest Position

Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 29.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 139,620 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 31,450 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 4.3% of Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $102,534,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $672.36 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.69 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $643.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $696.35. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $479.80 and a 12-month high of $796.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $608.35, for a total transaction of $314,516.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 10,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,478,319.15. The trade was a 4.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $658.69, for a total transaction of $341,860.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 28,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,876,738.02. The trade was a 1.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 39,596 shares of company stock worth $24,277,237 over the last 90 days. 13.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the subject of several research reports. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $1,117.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Raymond James Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $800.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Redburn Partners set a $900.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $795.00 to $754.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $915.00 to $830.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $822.00.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta will test paid premium subscriptions across Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp that unlock advanced AI and exclusive features — a potential new recurring-revenue stream and direct monetization of AI capabilities. Meta to test premium subscriptions
• Positive Sentiment: Rothschild & Co (Redburn) upgraded META to a “buy” and raised its price target to $900, a bullish analyst endorsement that supports upside sentiment. Analyst upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and commentators continue to highlight Meta’s large cash generation and shareholder returns (centuries of buybacks/dividends-equivalent commentary), underscoring capital return potential as a support for the stock. Shareholder returns article
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple firms trimmed price targets (Roth MKM, Raymond James, KeyCorp, Stifel) while many left buy/strong?buy ratings intact — trimming near?term upside expectations but not ending bullish views. Price target moves
• Neutral Sentiment: Q4 earnings and, importantly, 2026 expense/capex guidance are focal points this week — investors are positioning for details on AI infrastructure and Reality Labs spending that will drive near?term volatility. Expense guidance focus
• Negative Sentiment: Meta temporarily blocked teens from interacting with some AI characters — a user?experience/regulatory response that could limit engagement or product rollouts while safety policies are refined. Meta blocks teens from AI characters
• Negative Sentiment: Meta faces a high-profile trial this week over youth addiction claims alongside TikTok and YouTube, increasing legal and reputational risk that investors factor into valuation. Youth addiction trial
• Negative Sentiment: Countries are advancing restrictions on children’s social?media use (e.g., Egypt exploring new limits), adding regulatory headwinds and potential regional usage impacts. Egypt social media restrictions
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing investor concern over hefty AI infra and Reality Labs capex — even as management trims headcount — keeps valuation sensitive to guidance and near?term margin pressure. Capex fears / pre-earnings

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.