Brick & Kyle Associates Acquires Shares of 4,752 Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Brick & Kyle Associates purchased a new stake of 4,752 shares of Meta in Q3 worth about $3.49 million, representing roughly 1.3% of its portfolio and its 29th-largest holding.
• Meta faces mixed AI catalysts — new Meta AI Marketplace features and an in-house MTIA chip roadmap could boost monetization and margins, but the delayed "Avocado" model and ongoing regulatory scrutiny have weighed on sentiment and the stock (trading down ~3.8%).
• Insiders have sold heavily recently (including the CTO and CFO), with 160,349 shares worth about $102.7 million sold in the last 90 days; institutional investors own roughly 79.9% of the stock while insiders hold ~13.6%.

Brick & Kyle Associates purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 4,752 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $3,490,000. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.3% of Brick & Kyle Associates' portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Trust Co of the South grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the third quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 1,850 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,359,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Sentinel Pension Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sentinel Pension Advisors LLC now owns 915 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $672,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management now owns 4,301 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $3,159,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 3.2% in the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 454 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Finally, Vista Capital Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $794,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines 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?

Meta Platforms Trading Down 3.8%

Shares of META stock opened at $613.71 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 2.60. The firm has a market cap of $1.55 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.12, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.30. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $479.80 and a 1-year high of $796.25. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $653.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $676.88.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $8.16 by $0.72. The company had revenue of $59.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.33 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 30.08%.The company'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 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. 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 is currently 8.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $800.00 target price (up from $770.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Argus reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $800.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $1,117.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $900.00 target price on Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $844.44.

Insider Activity

In related 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 value of $5,106,100.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 2,841 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,793,352.84. The trade was a 74.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 160,349 shares of company stock worth $102,743,026. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Profile

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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