Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Simplicity Wealth LLC

Simplicity Wealth LLC reduced its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 19.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,335 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 5,403 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 0.9% of Simplicity Wealth LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Simplicity Wealth LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $16,402,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,000. WFA Asset Management Corp boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 42.6% during the 2nd quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 67 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $59,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on META shares. KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $835.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 26th. Roth Mkm decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 26th. BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $872.00 price target (up previously from $830.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $847.98.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat + AI narrative shift: Meta reported stronger‑than‑expected Q4 revenue and EPS and management framed ad strength as early proof that AI investments are improving monetization and engagement — a narrative some analysts now call an AI profit cycle. Meta’s Story Just Flipped — Seeking Alpha
• Positive Sentiment: Strong guidance & analyst upgrades: Q1 revenue guidance topped Street expectations and many firms raised price targets or reiterated buys, supporting the recent rally and giving institutional investors cover to support higher valuations. MarketBeat: Meta Soars After‑Hours
• Neutral Sentiment: Business diversification tests: Meta is piloting premium subscriptions for Instagram/Facebook/WhatsApp and expanding AI features — potential long‑term upside but unclear near‑term revenue impact. CNBC: Premium subscription tests
• Neutral Sentiment: Supply deals validate buildout but signal capital intensity: large supplier agreements (e.g., with Corning) back the AI data‑center plan while confirming heavy multi‑year spending. CNBC: Corning deal
• Negative Sentiment: Massive 2026 CapEx: Management guided to $115B–$135B of capex for 2026 — far above prior levels — raising near‑term cash intensity and margin dilution concerns despite management saying operating income should hold. Reuters: CapEx rise
• Negative Sentiment: Reality Labs drag: XR/Reality Labs continues to burn cash (multi‑billion losses), creating an ongoing margin headwind and execution risk for non‑ad businesses. TechCrunch: $19B VR burn
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory & reputational headlines: A New Mexico trial alleging platforms exposed minors to exploitation and reports about content‑blocking controversies add legal and reputational risk that can pressure multiple‑quarter sentiment. Reuters: New Mexico trial
• Negative Sentiment: Near‑term profit‑taking & headline noise: high short‑term expectations after the rally, occasional pundit criticism (e.g., Jim Cramer) and small insider sales add to volatility and can push the stock down after its run. 247WallSt: Jim Cramer critique

Meta Platforms Trading Down 3.0%

NASDAQ:META opened at $716.50 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.81 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.29. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $479.80 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $652.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $696.11.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) 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 analyst estimates of $58.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $8.02 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. 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%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.35, for a total value of $365,610.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,476,894.45. This represents a 7.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,610 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Saturday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.46, for a total value of $1,590,690.60. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,962,956.64. The trade was a 21.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 40,113 shares of company stock worth $24,621,042 over the last 90 days. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by 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.