Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stake Lifted by InTrack Investment Management Inc

InTrack Investment Management Inc raised its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 29.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,861 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 1,329 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 2.2% of InTrack Investment Management Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. InTrack Investment Management Inc’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,869,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Trust Co of the South boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 1,850 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,359,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Sentinel Pension Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.6% during the third quarter. Sentinel Pension Advisors LLC now owns 915 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $672,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the third quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management now owns 4,301 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,159,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 454 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $334,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vista Capital Partners Inc. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $794,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley kept Meta as a top pick despite trimming its price target to $775, signaling continued conviction in the company’s long‑term AI and ad recovery story. Morgan Stanley trims PT
• Positive Sentiment: Meta is building an elite AI lab for its recommendations division and deploying AI to accelerate risk reviews — moves that should improve product relevancy, ad monetization, and safety over time. Business Insider: AI lab
• Positive Sentiment: Product updates (new Ray‑Ban prescription smart glasses) expand hardware monetization optionality and signal progress in Reality Labs consumer offerings. MSN: Ray‑Ban glasses
• Neutral Sentiment: China’s commerce ministry said it supports law‑abiding transnational tech deals amid reports of a review of a Meta transaction — a stabilizing comment for deal risk but not a definitive clearance. Reuters: China supports deals
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo cut Meta’s price target sharply to $765 (from $856) though it kept an Overweight rating — the sizable PT cut reinforces near‑term sentiment weakness despite a positive medium‑term view; Wells Fargo highlighted upcoming earnings as a potential catalyst. Invezz: Wells Fargo PT cut
• Negative Sentiment: Erste Group downgraded META from Buy to Hold, adding to analyst caution and likely contributing to selling pressure. Finviz: Erste downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Recent legal losses (New Mexico civil penalties and a “bellwether” California jury verdict) are the largest near‑term overhang — they raise the risk of follow‑on suits, potential billings for damages/legal fees, and political/regulatory scrutiny that could materially affect sentiment and valuation. MarketBeat: legal losses analysis

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.8%

NASDAQ META opened at $574.46 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $479.80 and a 12 month high of $796.25. The company has a market capitalization of $1.45 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.45, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.31. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $639.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $662.03. 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 (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.16 by $0.72. The firm had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.33 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $8.02 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect 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 Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 8.94%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $632.02, for a total transaction of $366,571.60. Following the sale, the director owned 4,427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,797,952.54. The trade was a 11.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total transaction of $36,471,323.70. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 161,448 shares of company stock valued at $103,333,788 over the last three months. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $920.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Argus restated a “buy” rating and set a $800.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $800.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $775.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Four research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $843.57.

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.