Aquatic Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Aquatic Capital Management LLC sharply increased its Meta stake — the firm boosted holdings by 21,540.1% in Q3 to 94,351 shares (added 93,915 shares), worth about $69.3 million and representing ~1.3% of its portfolio (its 4th largest position).
• Notable insider selling has occurred recently — CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares (reducing his stake by 74%), COO Javier Olivan sold 926 shares, and insiders have sold 161,446 shares (~$103.45M) in the last 90 days.
• Strong results and a new dividend, but mixed outlook — Meta beat quarterly estimates (EPS $8.88 vs. $8.16; revenue $59.89B, +23.8% YoY), announced a $0.525 quarterly dividend (annual $2.10, 0.3% yield), and received several analyst price-target upgrades leaving a consensus "Moderate Buy" (~$844.44).

Aquatic Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 21,540.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 94,351 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 93,915 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 1.3% of Aquatic Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Aquatic Capital Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $69,289,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in META. Westchester Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Evergreen Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 64.8% in the 3rd quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 2,841 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,793,352.84. The trade was a 74.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 926 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $634.94, for a total value of $587,954.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 15,187 shares in the company, valued at $9,642,833.78. This represents a 5.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 161,446 shares of company stock valued at $103,451,688. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock 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 twelve month low of $479.80 and a twelve month high of $796.25. The company has a market cap of $1.55 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.30. The company's 50 day moving average is $653.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $677.38.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $840.00 to $880.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $920.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Three 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $844.44.

Key Stories Impacting 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?

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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