Maridea Wealth Management LLC Acquires 4,907 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Maridea Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 154.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 8,083 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,907 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 0.9% of Maridea Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Maridea Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $5,918,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in META. Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at approximately $44,000. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth $59,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $639.30 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $656.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $687.24. The stock has a market cap of $1.62 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.28. 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 12 month low of $479.80 and a 12 month high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.33 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $8.02 EPS. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, 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 will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued 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 is Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on META shares. Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $800.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 26th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Arete Research set a $718.00 target price on Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $930.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $844.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $631.24, for a total transaction of $5,106,100.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 2,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,793,352.84. This trade represents a 74.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $639.18, for a total value of $370,724.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 5,007 shares in the company, valued at $3,200,374.26. This trade represents a 10.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 46,580 shares of company stock worth $30,048,498. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Big AI chip deal with AMD: Meta agreed to a multiyear supply/partnership to deploy up to ~6 GW of AMD AI GPUs and could purchase as much as 10% of AMD, representing billions in committed chip spend that diversifies Meta’s supplier base and validates its large-scale AI buildout. VIEW AMD secures Meta as next big AI chip customer
• Positive Sentiment: Shareholder return: Meta declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.525 per share, payable March 26, which supports total-return investors and can help underpin the stock during AI?capex cycles. Meta (META) Strengthens Investor Appeal With Dividend Payout
• Neutral Sentiment: Stablecoin/payments push: Multiple reports say Meta is preparing to re-enter payments with stablecoin integration across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp potentially in H2 2026 — a longer?term monetization opportunity but subject to partner deals and regulatory scrutiny. Meta Hopes to Launch Stablecoin Payments Project This Year
• Neutral Sentiment: Renewable power deal: Meta signed a long-term offtake for an 80 MW solar project in Pennsylvania to support US data?center operations — positive for operations/ESG but limited immediate financial impact. MN8 Energy Supports Meta’s U.S. Data Center Operations
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment: Consensus analyst coverage remains positive-to-cautious (consensus “Moderate Buy”), suggesting Wall Street sees upside tied to AI execution but also recognizes valuation and capex risks. Meta Platforms Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy”
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale: CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,789 shares (~$12.2M at ~$650 average), lowering her stake ~21%; insider sales can raise concern about executive conviction despite routine explanations. SEC filing: Susan J. Li sale
• Negative Sentiment: Legal/reputational risk: Court filings show internal warnings that planned end?to?end encryption could impede reporting of child?exploitation cases, heightening regulatory and litigation risk that could create headlines and potential compliance costs. Meta executive warned Facebook Messenger encryption plan was ‘so irresponsible’

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.