Dodge & Cox Has $2.91 Billion Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Dodge & Cox trimmed its stake in Meta by 4.8% in Q3 and now holds 3,963,207 shares worth about $2.91 billion, roughly 0.16% of Meta and 1.6% of Dodge & Cox’s portfolio (its 24th largest position).
• Meta delivered a strong quarter—$8.88 EPS vs. $8.16 expected and $59.89B revenue (up 23.8% YoY)—and sits on a $1.55T market cap with a PE of ~26; it also announced a $0.525 quarterly dividend ($2.10 annual, ~0.3% yield).
• News flow is mixed: promising moves like in‑house AI chips and new Marketplace AI features could boost margins, but the delayed Avocado AI rollout and notable insider selling have raised near‑term scrutiny and downside risk.

Dodge & Cox decreased its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,963,207 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 200,046 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.6% of Dodge & Cox's holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. Dodge & Cox owned approximately 0.16% of Meta Platforms worth $2,910,500,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, Evergreen Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 64.8% in the third quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $613.71 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.55 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a current ratio of 2.60. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $653.25 and a 200-day moving average of $677.91. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $479.80 and a 52-week high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $59.89 billion for 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $8.02 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be paid 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 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on META. Argus restated a "buy" rating and set a $800.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Roth Mkm decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating and set a $900.00 price objective (up from $870.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $730.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $835.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $844.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total transaction of $36,471,323.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 2,841 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,793,352.84. This represents a 74.01% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 161,446 shares of company stock valued at $103,451,688. Insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

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?

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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