Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Sells 596,800 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC cut its Meta stake by 43.6%, selling 596,800 shares and leaving it with 771,152 shares worth about $501.6 million, making Meta 0.8% of the fund and its 11th largest holding.
• Insider and institutional activity: insiders have sold 161,448 shares worth $103.3 million in the past 90 days (recent sales by Director Robert M. Kimmitt and COO Javier Olivan), while institutional owners hold roughly 79.9% of Meta and corporate insiders own 13.61%.
• Operationally Meta beat Q4 expectations with $8.88 EPS on $59.89 billion revenue and maintains strong margins; Wall Street consensus rates the stock a "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of about $843.57 and a quarterly dividend of $0.525.

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC decreased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 43.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 771,152 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 596,800 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 0.8% of Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $501,565,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brookstone Capital Management grew its position in Meta Platforms by 20.9% during the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 80,197 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $52,937,000 after acquiring an additional 13,877 shares during the last quarter. Financial Planning Hawaii Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $781,000. Kieckhefer Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 80.1% in the 4th quarter. Kieckhefer Group LLC now owns 499 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 17.3% during the 4th quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,357 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $2,216,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harrell Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 11,885 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $7,845,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director directly owned 4,427 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,797,952.54. This represents a 11.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 926 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $605.38, for a total value of $560,581.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 13,335 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,072,742.30. This trade represents a 6.49% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 161,448 shares of company stock worth $103,333,788 over the last ninety days. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $574.46 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $479.80 and a 1 year high of $796.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.45 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.31. The company's 50-day moving average is $637.79 and its 200 day moving average is $659.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 2.60.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.16 by $0.72. The business had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.33 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 38.61%. Meta Platforms's quarterly revenue was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $8.02 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.94%.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Launched new AI wearables — Meta expanded its Ray‑Ban smart‑glasses lineup (prescription Ray‑Ban Meta Blayzer Optics and Meta Scriber Optics), reinforcing the company’s push to monetize AI-powered consumer hardware and services. Meta Platforms, Inc. (META) Strengthens AI Strategy With New Glasses and Services
• Positive Sentiment: Moves into clinical VR with VA — Meta partnered with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to scale clinical-grade VR therapy in VA medical centers, signaling enterprise and regulated-market adoption for its VR/Quest platform. This can open non‑advertising revenue channels. Meta’s VA Partnership Puts Clinical VR Therapy In Meta Platforms Story
• Positive Sentiment: Building AI hardware capability — Meta’s Superintelligence Labs hired veteran engineer Rui Xu to lead hardware efforts, suggesting deeper investment in custom AI devices beyond glasses, which supports long‑term vertical integration for AI compute and products. Meta Superintelligence Labs is quietly building a hardware team
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo trims price target but stays constructive — Wells Fargo cut its PT to $765 (from $856) while maintaining an Overweight rating, reflecting confidence in long‑term AI upside despite nearer‑term uncertainty ahead of earnings. Ahead of Meta, Alphabet earnings, Wells Fargo keeps overweight, cuts PTs
• Neutral Sentiment: China signals support for lawful cross‑border deals — Beijing said it supports law‑abiding transnational tech deals after reports of a Meta review, offering potential clarity for any China‑related partnerships or supply arrangements. China says it supports law‑abiding transnational deals after reports of Meta deal review
• Negative Sentiment: Bay Area layoffs — Meta is cutting roughly 200 roles in the San Francisco Bay Area as it restructures teams while reallocating capital toward AI infrastructure; layoffs can be read as cost discipline but also highlight internal reshaping and near‑term workforce disruption. Meta's Bay Area layoffs affect roughly 200 workers as company pours billions into AI infrastructure
• Negative Sentiment: Rising legal/regulatory risk — Recent court losses and challenges to Section 230 protections have increased litigation and regulatory uncertainty for Meta, which could lead to higher compliance costs, content moderation expense and potential liabilities. Meta, Google under attack as court cases bypass 30‑year‑old legal shieldWhat's next for Meta in the wake of trial losses and layoffs?
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades and PT trims — Morgan Stanley cut its PT to $775 citing softer ad trends and Erste downgraded to Hold; analyst cuts increase selling pressure and shorten the runway for multiple near‑term catalysts. Morgan Stanley trims PT on Meta Platforms (META) to $775 amid softer advertising backdropMeta Platforms was downgraded by Erste Group Bank AG

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $835.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $840.00 to $880.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Four equities research 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $843.57.

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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