Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 20.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,108 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,722 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 1.0% of Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $18,554,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Country Trust Bank boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 162,273 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $107,115,000 after buying an additional 21,715 shares during the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 11,745 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $7,753,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 17,716 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $10,988,000 after purchasing an additional 744 shares during the last quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,184 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $2,102,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 696,555 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $459,789,000 after purchasing an additional 52,364 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.
Meta Platforms News Summary
Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Industry forecasts say Meta could overtake Google as the world’s largest digital-ad company in 2026, boosting revenue growth expectations and advertiser leverage. Meta poised to surpass Google in digital ad revenue for first time, report says
- Positive Sentiment: Meta’s new AI model (Muse Spark) launch is being cited as a key catalyst — investors see product differentiation, ad targeting improvements and longer-term monetization upside from AI investments. Meta Platforms Finally Releases Muse Spark. Is the AI Model Worth the Wait?
- Positive Sentiment: Unity extended a multi-year platform support and enterprise agreement with Meta, reinforcing VR/AR partnerships that support long-term Metaverse/Reality Labs opportunities. Unity and Meta Extend Multi-Year Platform Support and Enterprise Agreement
- Neutral Sentiment: Meta will report Q1 2026 results after the market close on April 29; upcoming guidance and ad/AI metrics will likely drive near-term volatility. Meta to Announce First Quarter 2026 Results
- Neutral Sentiment: Retail/investor attention is elevated (search and coverage spikes), which can amplify moves around earnings and sector news. Investors Heavily Search Meta Platforms, Inc. (META)
- Negative Sentiment: Several analysts trimmed price targets (Stifel, Wolfe, KeyCorp), which can cap upside and signal more cautious near-term expectations despite buy ratings. Stifel Nicolaus lowers META price target
- Negative Sentiment: Regulatory pressure: the Philippines and U.S. state attorneys general have pushed Meta to curb panic-inducing or scam content, creating potential compliance costs and reputational risk. Philippines Orders Meta to Tighten Measures Against ‘Panic-Inducing’ Fake News NY AG warns of social media investment scams on Meta platforms
- Negative Sentiment: Reports that Meta is developing a photoreal AI “clone” of CEO Mark Zuckerberg for staff interactions raise privacy and governance concerns that could attract scrutiny. Meta is building a creepy AI clone of Mark Zuckerberg to chat with staff: report
Insider Activity
In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief technology officer owned 2,841 shares in the company, valued at $1,793,352.84. This trade represents a 74.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total value of $36,471,323.70. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 160,414 shares of company stock worth $102,659,925 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.
Meta Platforms Stock Performance
META opened at $634.53 on Tuesday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $627.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $652.48. The company has a market cap of $1.61 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.31. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $479.80 and a 52-week high of $796.25. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $58.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $8.02 earnings per share. Meta Platforms's revenue for the quarter was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Meta Platforms Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th were given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.94%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
META has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $810.00 to $885.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $840.00 to $880.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $805.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $837.72.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on META
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.
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