Quilter Plc Has $165.88 Million Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Quilter Plc increased its stake in Meta by 1.3% to 251,297 shares worth $165.88 million, representing about 2.8% of Quilter’s portfolio and making Meta its 11th-largest holding.
• Meta beat expectations in the most recent quarter, reporting $8.88 EPS vs. $8.16 expected and $59.89 billion in revenue (up 23.8% year-over-year), with a net margin of 30.08%.
• There has been notable selling by insiders (160,414 shares totaling about $102.66M) while institutional ownership is roughly 79.9%; analysts remain mostly bullish with a "Moderate Buy" consensus and an average price target of $837.72.

Quilter Plc grew its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 251,297 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,188 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 2.8% of Quilter Plc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Quilter Plc's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $165,879,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in META. Westchester Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Dorato Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 26.3% in the fourth quarter. PMV Capital Advisers LLC now owns 96 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, eCIO Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $66,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $634.53 on Tuesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $479.80 and a 1-year high of $796.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $627.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $652.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.61 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.31.

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. 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 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Industry forecasts say Meta could overtake Google as the world’s largest digital-ad company in 2026, boosting revenue growth expectations and advertiser leverage. Meta poised to surpass Google in digital ad revenue for first time, report says
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s new AI model (Muse Spark) launch is being cited as a key catalyst — investors see product differentiation, ad targeting improvements and longer-term monetization upside from AI investments. Meta Platforms Finally Releases Muse Spark. Is the AI Model Worth the Wait?
• Positive Sentiment: Unity extended a multi-year platform support and enterprise agreement with Meta, reinforcing VR/AR partnerships that support long-term Metaverse/Reality Labs opportunities. Unity and Meta Extend Multi-Year Platform Support and Enterprise Agreement
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta will report Q1 2026 results after the market close on April 29; upcoming guidance and ad/AI metrics will likely drive near-term volatility. Meta to Announce First Quarter 2026 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Retail/investor attention is elevated (search and coverage spikes), which can amplify moves around earnings and sector news. Investors Heavily Search Meta Platforms, Inc. (META)
• Negative Sentiment: Several analysts trimmed price targets (Stifel, Wolfe, KeyCorp), which can cap upside and signal more cautious near-term expectations despite buy ratings. Stifel Nicolaus lowers META price target
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory pressure: the Philippines and U.S. state attorneys general have pushed Meta to curb panic-inducing or scam content, creating potential compliance costs and reputational risk. Philippines Orders Meta to Tighten Measures Against ‘Panic-Inducing’ Fake News NY AG warns of social media investment scams on Meta platforms
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Meta is developing a photoreal AI “clone” of CEO Mark Zuckerberg for staff interactions raise privacy and governance concerns that could attract scrutiny. Meta is building a creepy AI clone of Mark Zuckerberg to chat with staff: report

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,461 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Sunday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $639.77, for a total transaction of $1,574,473.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 12,108 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,746,335.16. The trade was a 16.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available 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 transaction of $5,106,100.36. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 2,841 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,793,352.84. This trade represents a 74.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 160,414 shares of company stock valued at $102,659,925 over the last ninety days. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on META. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Evercore raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $808.00 to $890.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $856.00 to $765.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $930.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $837.72.

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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