Holocene Advisors LP increased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) by 135.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 926,348 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 533,076 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.6% of Holocene Advisors LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Holocene Advisors LP’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $680,291,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hughes Financial Services LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 42.7% during the 3rd quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC now owns 344 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Hyperion Asset Management Ltd grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hyperion Asset Management Ltd now owns 263,309 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $193,369,000 after acquiring an additional 6,592 shares during the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 111,755 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $82,071,000 after acquiring an additional 13,453 shares during the period. Fagan Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.9% during the third quarter. Fagan Associates Inc. now owns 14,152 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $10,393,000 after acquiring an additional 783 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fayez Sarofim & Co raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.9% during the third quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 1,925,483 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,422,854,000 after acquiring an additional 157,669 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.
Meta Platforms Price Performance
META stock opened at $627.45 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $1.59 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.70, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $652.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $676.01. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $479.80 and a 12-month high of $796.25.
Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.94%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several analysts recently weighed in on META shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $808.00 to $890.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Argus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $800.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. KeyCorp cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $835.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $930.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Three 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $844.44.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Meta Platforms
Key Meta Platforms News
Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Reports that Meta is preparing to cut roughly 20% of its workforce pushed expectations for multi?billion dollar annual cost savings and sparked a rally as investors priced in faster path to profitability. Meta shares jump after Reuters report on plans for layoffs of 20% or more
- Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan reiterated an Overweight rating and reiterated a high price target, providing institutional support for the stock amid the headlines. Analysts set Meta stock price target
- Neutral Sentiment: Meta signed a large multi?year AI infrastructure agreement with Nebius (reported up to $27B) — it secures compute capacity critical for scaling AI but also confirms very large future spend commitments. Markets see this as strategic but capital?intensive. Meta signs deal worth up to $27 billion with Nebius for AI infrastructure
- Neutral Sentiment: Several bullish analyst/strategy pieces argue the pullback is a buying opportunity given Meta’s scale, ad growth and AI monetization runway — providing counterweight to cost/CapEx concerns. Delays, Compute Deals, And Sky?High CapEx: Why I’m Still Bullish On Meta
- Neutral Sentiment: Nebius and other cloud partners have seen strong share moves on the deal, highlighting that Meta’s AI commitments are reshaping the supplier landscape even if the direct near?term benefit to Meta is mixed. Meta’s $27B AI Cloud Deal Sends Nebius Group Stock Soaring
- Negative Sentiment: Multiple reports flag surging AI spending, product delays (Avocado AI, smart glasses) and high CapEx plans — investors worry these investments could pressure margins and cash flow before monetization. Meta Reportedly Plans Job Cuts as AI Spending Surges
- Negative Sentiment: Advertiser pushback on a new Facebook/Instagram payment policy raises modest short?term ad revenue execution risk if it leads to reduced spend from affected advertisers. Why some Facebook and Instagram advertisers are freaking out about a new payment policy
- Negative Sentiment: Macro/regulatory uncertainty — including EU debates over content?detection rules — keeps policy risk on investors’ radars; outcomes could affect compliance costs and product implementations in Europe. EU fails to extend rules on child abuse content detection by online platforms
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 926 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $634.94, for a total transaction of $587,954.44. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 15,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,642,833.78. This represents a 5.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 2,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,793,352.84. This trade represents a 74.01% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 159,830 shares of company stock valued at $102,409,190 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.
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.
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