BIP Wealth LLC Boosts Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

BIP Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 49.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,785 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 1,250 shares during the period. BIP Wealth LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,780,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of META. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth approximately $42,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth $44,000. WFA Asset Management Corp grew 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 worth $49,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth about $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META opened at $716.50 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $479.80 and a 12-month high of $796.25. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $652.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $696.11. The firm has a market cap of $1.81 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.49, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 2.60, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.33 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $8.02 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 8.94%.

Key Headlines 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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on META shares. 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. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $800.00 target price (up previously from $770.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $800.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $847.98.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 726 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $591.60, for a total value of $429,501.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 6,035 shares in the company, valued at $3,570,306. This represents a 10.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,875 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Saturday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.46, for a total transaction of $4,190,037.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 88,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,857,980.20. This trade represents a 7.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 40,113 shares of company stock valued at $24,621,042. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Company 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.