PFG Advisors Acquires 1,108 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

PFG Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 12.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 10,159 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,108 shares during the period. PFG Advisors’ holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $7,460,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, Evergreen Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 64.8% during the 3rd quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $638.18 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.61 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.30. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $479.80 and a twelve month high of $796.25. The company’s fifty day moving average is $653.98 and its 200 day moving average is $678.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced 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. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 30.08%.The business had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.33 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $8.02 EPS. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.94%.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta unveiled a roadmap for four new in?house AI chips (MTIA 300/400/450/500) aimed at inference workloads and faster iterative deployments — a long?term win for gross?margin control and scalability if Meta can reduce third?party hardware spend. Meta Chip Roadmap Puts AI Inference And Costs In Sharper Focus
• Positive Sentiment: Facebook Marketplace rolled out Meta AI features that auto?write listings and suggest prices — these product improvements can increase seller throughput and ad/commerce monetization. Meta AI Writes Listings and Sets Prices for Facebook Marketplace Sellers
• Positive Sentiment: Meta expanded AI?driven scam detection across Facebook, WhatsApp and Messenger, which helps reduce fraud liability and could improve user trust and engagement. Meta Rolls Out New Scam Alerts Across Facebook, WhatsApp, and Messenger
• Positive Sentiment: Investor endorsement: Michael Cuggino cited Meta as an AI pick for its cost discipline — a vote of confidence that may support long?term investor sentiment. Cuggino likes Meta for cost discipline
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts at Evercore flagged that large internet names (including Meta) may be oversold amid AI/geopolitical worries — this could imply a rebound if sentiment stabilizes. Amazon, Uber, and Other Internet Stocks Look Too Cheap After AI and Iran Worries
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta acquired Moltbook, a niche social network for AI agents — strategically relevant for agent research but commercially unproven; more of a signal on R&D direction than immediate revenue impact. Meta to acquire Moltbook, the social network for AI agents
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: COO Javier Olivan reduced holdings in recent SEC filings — such sizable insider disposals can spook short?term investors even if routine. Insider sale filing
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory risk: UK regulators and lawmakers are pressing big tech (including Meta) to do more to keep children off platforms — potential for stricter rules or compliance costs in key markets. UK watchdogs press Meta, TikTok, Snap and YouTube to block children
• Negative Sentiment: Public skepticism on costs: Commentary (e.g., Jim Cramer) asking why Meta retains ~78k employees if AI boosts productivity raises investor questions about future headcount, restructuring and near?term cost cuts. Cramer: Why does Meta need 78,000 employees if AI makes them 10x more productive?
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction note: coverage flagged that Meta fell more than the broader market on the latest session — signaling profit?taking or short?term risk aversion despite the strategic positives. Here’s Why Meta Platforms (META) Fell More Than Broader Market

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $631.24, for a total value of $5,106,100.36. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 2,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,793,352.84. This represents a 74.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,461 shares of the stock in a transaction on Sunday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $639.77, for a total transaction of $1,574,473.97. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 12,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,746,335.16. This trade represents a 16.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 161,446 shares of company stock valued at $103,451,688 over the last ninety days. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Wedbush increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Evercore raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $800.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Three equities research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $844.44.

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.