Cannell & Spears LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Cannell & Spears LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 554.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 69,283 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 58,691 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 1.0% of Cannell & Spears LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Cannell & Spears LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $50,880,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Westchester Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, Evergreen Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 64.8% during the third quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META opened at $613.71 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.55 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 2.60. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $479.80 and a 1-year high of $796.25. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $653.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $676.88.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its 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 return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 30.08%.The company had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $8.02 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 is currently 8.94%.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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?

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $631.24, for a total value of $5,106,100.36. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 2,841 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,793,352.84. This represents a 74.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $36,471,323.70. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 160,349 shares of company stock worth $102,743,026 over the last three months. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $810.00 to $885.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $840.00 to $880.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $920.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Evercore boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Roth Mkm reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $844.44.

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.