Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Purchased by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 180,966 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 2,986 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.7% of Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $132,898,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Goldstone Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 44.4% during the third quarter. Goldstone Financial Group LLC now owns 3,752 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,756,000 after buying an additional 1,153 shares during the period. CW Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 27.8% during the 2nd quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 176,762 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $130,467,000 after acquiring an additional 38,432 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 34.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 52,252 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $38,373,000 after acquiring an additional 13,311 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 11.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 210,526 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $155,387,000 after acquiring an additional 20,912 shares during the period. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.6% in the second quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 84,687 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $62,507,000 after acquiring an additional 4,473 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,418 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Sunday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $639.77, for a total value of $4,106,043.86. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 73,346 shares in the company, valued at $46,924,570.42. The trade was a 8.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $646.00, for a total value of $374,680.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,983,882. This represents a 8.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 20,738 shares of company stock valued at $13,362,921. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Major NVIDIA multiyear deal — Meta signed a multigenerational agreement to buy millions of NVIDIA GPUs and adopt NVIDIA CPUs, networking and rack designs, strengthening its AI roadmap and securing long‑term supply for data‑center buildout. This deal underpins the rally as it reduces Meta’s hardware risk and accelerates product timelines. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Big investors leaning into the AI thesis — Reports (including 13F mentions) show some prominent funds increasing Meta exposure on the AI infrastructure/advertising opportunity, adding conviction to the upside. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Product roadmap shifts — Meta is refocusing Horizon Worlds toward mobile (less VR) and will shut down Messenger’s standalone website; these are strategic pivots that change execution risk but have limited immediate revenue impact. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling by senior executives — Multiple SEC filings show sizable recent sales by CFO Susan Li and COO Javier Olivan (and a director sale), which can create near‑term supply and market signaling concerns. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Staff equity cut to fund AI — Financial Times/Reuters report Meta trimmed annual equity awards by ~5% for most staff to reallocate dollars to AI buildout, highlighting cost tradeoffs and potential morale/retention implications. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Huge 2026 CapEx and margin risk — Coverage notes Meta’s elevated 2026 capex plan (reported guidance in the $115–$135B range) to build AI infrastructure; that spending fuels growth potential but increases short‑term margin and execution risk. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Legal/regulatory overhang — CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified in a landmark youth‑addiction trial that could influence future regulation, moderation costs, or advertising dynamics if outcomes impose new constraints. Read More.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of META opened at $644.78 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 is $656.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $690.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.60 and a quick ratio of 2.60. The stock has a market cap of $1.63 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.28.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.16 by $0.72. The business had revenue of $59.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.33 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 30.08%.The company’s revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $8.02 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 (DPR) is currently 8.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $810.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $730.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $840.00 to $880.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $844.29.

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.