Meridian Wealth Management LLC Sells 3,164 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Meridian Wealth Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 31,468 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 3,164 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 0.9% of Meridian Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Meridian Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $23,109,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $20,230,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,537,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd raised its position in Meta Platforms by 294.7% in the 1st quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd now owns 150,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $86,454,000 after purchasing an additional 112,000 shares during the last quarter. Dymon Asia Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth $213,000. Finally, Capital & Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at $322,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 2.4%

NASDAQ:META opened at $677.37 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $479.80 and a 1-year high of $796.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.71 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.82, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.28. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $657.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $694.73.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $8.16 by $0.72. The company had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.33 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 30.08%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $8.02 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.94%.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Big-capex boost: Meta’s plan to spend up to $135 billion in 2026 continues to be a major positive catalyst for investors who view it as funding AI, data centers and long?term growth — the announcement previously drove a large share pop and is supporting bullish sentiment. META Pops 10% on $135b Capex Announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional support: Diamond Hill Capital increased its stake, a signal that some money managers remain confident in Meta’s fundamentals and long?run thesis. Institutional buying can underpin the stock even amid headline noise. Diamond Hill boosts stake
• Neutral Sentiment: AI/data center progress & deal activity: Reporting indicates an AI/data?center deal is advancing while related corporate developments proceed — commercially positive but still distant from immediate revenue recognition. Child safety lawsuit proceeds as AI data center deal advances
• Neutral Sentiment: Reality Labs repositioning: Meta’s CTO called cuts to Reality Labs “a real cause for sadness” but reiterated the company remains bullish on VR — suggests management is reallocating capital toward higher?growth AI and data infrastructure. Meta CTO on Reality Labs cuts
• Negative Sentiment: EU antitrust escalation: The European Commission has sent a statement of objections and signaled it may impose interim measures to stop Meta from blocking rival AI assistants on WhatsApp — a material regulatory risk that could weaken Meta’s AI distribution advantages in Europe and force product changes or fines. Meta has publicly criticised the move, but the threat of fast interim remedies increases near?term uncertainty. EU threatens Meta with interim measure
• Negative Sentiment: Legal exposure in U.S. trials: Opening arguments began in high?profile cases (New Mexico, LA) alleging addictive design and child?safety failures; unsealed researcher documents alleging large numbers of exploited minors amplify reputational and litigation risk and could lead to damages or stricter regulation. These proceedings keep downside risk elevated for investors. Meta and YouTube Created ‘Digital Casinos,’ Lawyers Argue

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 28,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,876,738.02. This trade represents a 1.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $618.28, for a total transaction of $358,602.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 5,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,454,330.36. This represents a 9.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 38,561 shares of company stock worth $23,673,584. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $730.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $810.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Wedbush increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $847.40.

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.