Westview Management dba Westview Investment Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 6,976 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $4,605,000. Meta Platforms accounts for 2.2% of Westview Management dba Westview Investment Advisors' portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position.
Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at approximately $23,155,393,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 73,443.1% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,417,003 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $6,212,506,000 after purchasing an additional 8,405,558 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.9% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $64,158,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,650,435 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,191,175,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 192,591,101 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $142,149,566,000 after purchasing an additional 1,532,568 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $872.00 price target (up from $830.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Pivotal Research dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $930.00 to $910.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $785.00 to $820.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $846.63.
Get Our Latest Report on META
Insider Activity
In related news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $632.02, for a total value of $366,571.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,797,952.54. This represents a 11.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total value of $36,471,323.70. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 162,484 shares of company stock valued at $104,015,906. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms
Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Erste Group raised its FY2027 EPS outlook and reiterated a Buy rating, signaling some analyst confidence in Meta’s AI-driven revenue trajectory. Read More.
- Positive Sentiment: Meta is a lead partner/co‑developer on Arm’s new AGI CPU for data‑center AI workloads — a validation of Meta’s infrastructure strategy and a potential long‑term cost/performance win for its AI ambitions. Read More.
- Positive Sentiment: Company is reorganizing teams into AI‑native “pods” and launching small‑business AI initiatives to drive monetization and internal productivity gains. These moves support revenue diversification and execution on AI use cases. Read More.
- Neutral Sentiment: Meta granted performance‑tied stock awards/options to senior executives (targets tied to very aggressive market‑cap goals), which may help retention but could be dilutive or seen as costly if targets are not met. Read More.
- Neutral Sentiment: COO Javier Olivan disclosed stock sales in recent filings; routine insider selling can be neutral to slightly negative signal but often reflects diversification rather than a change in outlook. Read More.
- Negative Sentiment: Landmark jury rulings (California and New Mexico) found Meta liable or negligent in youth safety/addiction cases; Reuters warns these verdicts could trigger an appeals battle that reshapes tech liability protections — a major legal overhang for valuations and litigation exposure. Read More.
- Negative Sentiment: New Mexico jury ordered Meta to pay $375 million in a child‑safety case — an immediate cash penalty and a precedent that could encourage more state litigation and settlements. Read More.
- Negative Sentiment: Meta is cutting several hundred jobs (reports of broader headcount reductions persist) as it reallocates spending to AI; layoffs and reports of possible deeper cuts amplify concerns about execution risk and near‑term cost volatility. Read More.
- Negative Sentiment: High‑profile fund selling (Cathie Wood’s ARK trimmed Meta) adds downward pressure on sentiment and intra‑day flows. Read More.
- Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/transaction risk: China has restricted Manus co‑founders amid a review of Meta’s acquisition, potentially complicating an important AI talent/deal. Read More.
Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.3%
Shares of META stock opened at $594.89 on Thursday. 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 twelve month low of $479.80 and a twelve month high of $796.25. The company's 50-day moving average price is $647.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $669.74. The stock has a market cap of $1.50 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.31, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.30.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The firm had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $58.33 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $8.02 earnings per share. Meta Platforms's revenue was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.
Meta Platforms Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.94%.
About Meta Platforms
(
Free Report)
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.
See Also
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding META? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report).
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