Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stake Lifted by BLB&B Advisors LLC

BLB&B Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,527 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,374 shares during the period. BLB&B Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $16,543,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought 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 worth approximately $44,000. 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 worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at approximately $59,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $920.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Zacks Research cut Meta Platforms from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $800.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-one have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $848.50.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Company guided to ~30% revenue growth for Q1 (its fastest growth guide since 2021), reinforcing confidence in ad recovery and AI-driven monetization. Meta Platforms Posted Its Fastest Growth Guide in Years—Now What?
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results widely characterized as a “grand slam”: revenue and EPS beat, strong ad margins and signs that AI is boosting impressions and engagement. That underpins buy-side enthusiasm. Meta Platforms: Pounding The Table After A ‘Grand Slam’ Quarter
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analysts raised price targets and reiterated bullish ratings (Cantor Fitzgerald, Argus, Barclays and others), lifting consensus targets and fueling conviction that upside remains. Cantor Fitzgerald Hikes Price Target on Meta Platforms
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and outlets highlight that Meta’s AI investments are already improving advertising efficiency and sales momentum — a core driver of near-term profit growth. Meta’s Ad Engine Powers Growth Despite Soaring Costs: Analyst
• Positive Sentiment: Macro/strategic narratives: Meta is being picked by some outlets as a top Magnificent Seven buy for 2026 on its scale, growth trajectory and AI positioning. Meta Emerges as Top Pick Among Magnificent Seven Stocks for 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Speculative upside stories are circulating (talk of $1,000+ targets), which can boost momentum but are not consensus. Could Meta Platforms Stock Hit $1,000 in 2026?
• Neutral Sentiment: Some firms maintained Hold/Neutral stances even while many raised targets — a reminder not all analysts are uniformly bullish. Needham Hold Rating Reiterated
• Negative Sentiment: Huge planned AI/datacenter capex (discussed across coverage) raises near-term free?cash?flow and execution risk; some investors worry the spending pace could pressure margins and returns. Meta Platforms’ $135 Billion Bet Makes Complete Sense
• Negative Sentiment: Legal and product risks: a patent lawsuit targeting Meta’s smart-glasses efforts and a trial in New Mexico add headline risk that could dent sentiment if judgments or injunctions occur. Patent Lawsuit Tests Meta Smart Glasses Meta on trial: Jury selection to begin in Santa Fe

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.4%

NASDAQ:META opened at $706.41 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.78 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.28. 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 current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 2.60. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $653.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $696.00.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.35, for a total value of $365,610.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,476,894.45. This represents a 7.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,610 shares of the stock in a transaction on Saturday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.46, for a total value of $1,590,690.60. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 9,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,962,956.64. This represents a 21.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 39,077 shares of company stock worth $23,955,958 over the last 90 days. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.