Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Bought by Avala Global LP

Avala Global LP lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 111,300 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,634 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 3.4% of Avala Global LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Avala Global LP’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $81,736,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 6.7% during the third quarter. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC now owns 44,607 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $32,758,000 after purchasing an additional 2,805 shares during the period. Bridgefront Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,288,000. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 463,410 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $340,268,000 after purchasing an additional 35,882 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 5,925,404 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $4,351,498,000 after purchasing an additional 524,592 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 63.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. now owns 24,892 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $18,280,000 after buying an additional 9,685 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is rolling out new Meta AI features for Facebook Marketplace (automated listing creation and pricing) that help monetize its ads/commerce funnel and show ongoing productization of AI. Meta AI Writes Listings and Sets Prices for Facebook Marketplace Sellers
• Positive Sentiment: Meta outlined an aggressive in?house chip roadmap (MTIA series) focused on generative AI inference — this could lower long?term inference costs and improve margins if deployed at scale. Meta Chip Roadmap Puts AI Inference And Costs In Sharper Focus
• Positive Sentiment: Several bullish takeaways: fund managers cite Meta’s cost discipline and scale as advantages, and some analysts/notes argue the stock is attractively valued among large cap AI beneficiaries. These views provide a counterweight to short?term AI execution concerns. Cuggino likes Meta for cost discipline
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider selling: COO Javier Olivan disclosed sales in early March (files show multiple transactions). Sizeable insider sales can draw attention but don’t necessarily signal company fundamentals. SEC filing – Olivan insider sale
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory scrutiny continues in the U.K. around child safety on platforms — a recurring policy risk that can affect product rollouts and compliance costs but is broadly anticipated by investors. UK watchdogs press Meta to block children
• Negative Sentiment: Avocado delay: Multiple outlets report Meta pushed the Avocado launch from this month to at least May after performance concerns, prompting investor worry about missed timelines and competitive positioning vs. Google/OpenAI. Meta Delays Rollout of New A.I. Model After Performance Concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction & scrutiny: Reports highlight that the delay increases scrutiny of Meta’s multibillion?dollar AI investments and raises the risk of competitors pulling ahead, pressuring sentiment and the stock near term. Meta delays rollout of new AI model, NYT reports
• Negative Sentiment: Additional coverage frames the pause as a potential strategic cost — analysts and commentary ask whether Meta can afford to wait while rivals sprint ahead, amplifying short?term downside risk. Avocado on Ice: Can Meta Afford to Pause?

Meta Platforms Trading Down 3.8%

NASDAQ META opened at $613.71 on Friday. 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $653.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $677.38. The company has a market capitalization of $1.55 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.30.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.16 by $0.72. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 30.08%.The firm had revenue of $59.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $8.02 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total value of $36,471,323.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,461 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Sunday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $639.77, for a total value of $1,574,473.97. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 12,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,746,335.16. This represents a 16.89% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 161,446 shares of company stock worth $103,451,688 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on META shares. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Argus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $800.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $860.00 price target (up from $750.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $872.00 price objective (up from $830.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and seven have given 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.

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.