Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Purchased by First Horizon Corp

Key Points

• First Horizon Corp increased its stake in Meta by 4.8% to 24,744 shares (about $16.33M), joining other institutional buyers as hedge funds and institutions now own roughly 79.9% of the stock.
• Meta beat Q1 expectations with $8.88 EPS vs. $8.16 est. and revenue of $59.89B (up 23.8%), has a $1.7T market cap, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.525 (annualized $2.10, ~0.3% yield).
• Strategic moves (a multi‑year space‑based solar deal, positive early reception to the Muse Spark AI model, and India JV progress) are offset by risks including China blocking the Manus acquisition, EU regulatory pressure, reputational issues from scams, and recent insider selling.

First Horizon Corp increased its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,744 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,134 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $16,333,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of META. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $20,230,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,537,000 after acquiring an additional 875 shares during the period. Headwater Capital Co Ltd grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 294.7% during the 1st quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd now owns 150,000 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $86,454,000 after purchasing an additional 112,000 shares during the last quarter. Dymon Asia Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at about $213,000. Finally, Capital & Planning LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at about $322,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.1%

Meta Platforms stock opened at $671.34 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.70 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.31. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $796.25. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $629.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $648.51. 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 (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.16 by $0.72. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The firm had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $58.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $8.02 EPS. The business's revenue was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is presently 8.94%.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta signed a multi‑year agreement to reserve up to 1 GW of space‑based solar power to support its AI data‑center needs — a long‑dated but high‑profile effort to secure continuous renewable power for heavy AI compute, which supports the company’s long‑term AI growth and cost profile. Meta partners with space startup Overview Energy
• Positive Sentiment: Early reception to Meta’s new Muse Spark model is constructive — the product marks a shift in strategy (less open‑source Llama-style releases) and raises the stakes for CEO commentary on monetization at earnings. Positive AI-product signals can support multiple revenue levers if Wall Street sees a clear path to commercial adoption. Meta's new AI model shows early promise
• Positive Sentiment: Reliance‑Meta joint venture progress in India (appointing a founding CEO) signals faster enterprise AI deployment in a large market — a potential revenue growth channel outside core consumer ads. Reliance and Meta's joint venture signals India shift
• Positive Sentiment: Operational partnership with CBRE to train fiber technicians supports Meta’s data‑center expansion and network reliability, reducing execution risk on infrastructure rollouts tied to AI workloads. Meta Platforms partners with CBRE
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and commentary emphasize that advertising metrics (ad revenue and engagement) remain the primary near‑term driver; Q1 results and management guidance will determine whether recent AI‑driven ad strength is durable. Large moves are expected around the print. Advertising results remain key
• Neutral Sentiment: Market narratives warn investors to look for proof that AI spending is producing returns — elevated CapEx guidance or unclear ROI could pressure sentiment even if revenue beats. Traders expect volatility around the earnings release. Will this week's earnings be 'good enough'?
• Negative Sentiment: China has blocked Meta’s acquisition of AI startup Manus and Meta is preparing to unwind the deal — an unexpected setback that removes an incremental capability and highlights geopolitical risk for cross‑border AI deals. That raises strategic and execution uncertainty. Meta prepares to undo Manus acquisition
• Negative Sentiment: Broader regulatory pressure: EU regulators say new rules will target cloud and AI services — tighter rules could raise compliance costs and constrain go‑to‑market options for AI products in Europe. EU to target cloud services and AI
• Negative Sentiment: Reputational/regulatory drag: FTC data shows Americans lost $2.1B to social‑media scams last year, with >2/3 tied to Meta apps — policymakers and advertisers watch trust metrics, which can affect user engagement and ad pricing over time. Americans lost $2.1 billion to social media scams

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on META shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $860.00 target price (up from $750.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $810.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $856.00 to $765.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Roth Mkm cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Four 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 has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $837.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total value of $36,471,323.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total value of $1,748,612.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 10,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,645,103.65. This trade represents a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 165,600 shares of company stock worth $106,023,973. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

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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