Associated Banc Corp Decreases Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

January 19, 2026

Associated Banc Corp lowered its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) by 3.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 73,537 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 2,273 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up about 1.4% of Associated Banc Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Associated Banc Corp’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $54,004,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Equita Financial Network Inc. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 5.1% in the third quarter. Equita Financial Network Inc. now owns 706 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $519,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Cannon Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.7% during the third quarter. Cannon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,735 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,273,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Phillips Financial Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 41.3% during the 3rd quarter. Phillips Financial Management LLC now owns 1,636 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,201,000 after purchasing an additional 478 shares during the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 2,358 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,731,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Trust grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Legacy Trust now owns 14,214 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $10,438,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on META. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $875.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $720.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 target price on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson set a $825.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $822.96.

Read Our Latest Research Report on Meta Platforms

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $658.69, for a total transaction of $341,860.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 28,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,876,738.02. This represents a 1.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $653.00, for a total transaction of $337,601.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 11,166 shares in the company, valued at $7,291,398. This represents a 4.43% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 40,054 shares of company stock worth $24,764,629 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

Positive Sentiment: Deals that de‑risk Meta’s AI/data‑center power needs — Meta has signed prepayment/partnership agreements (e.g., Oklo) to secure long‑term baseload energy for its Prometheus supercluster and broader Meta Compute buildout, lowering a major execution risk for its massive data‑center plans. Oklo’s Meta Deal De-Risks the Story—Rebound Setup Emerging
Positive Sentiment: BofA and other firms show constructive analyst interest — BofA reiterated/maintained a buy stance tied to Meta’s AI infra progress; Rosenblatt and some boutiques have also been positive recently, which can support sentiment if execution continues. BofA Securities Asserts Buy Stance
Positive Sentiment: Hardware demand signal — reports say Meta is discussing doubling Ray‑Ban Meta glasses output, signaling potential early revenue diversification from AI wearables beyond advertising. Meta mulls doubling output of Ray‑Ban glasses
Neutral Sentiment: Meta Compute initiative is long‑term strategic but capital intensive — the plan to build “tens/hundreds of gigawatts” of compute capacity underscores AI ambition (control and optionality) but raises timing and ROI questions for investors. Meta Compute: Inside Zuckerberg’s Massive Data Center Bet
Neutral Sentiment: Wikipedia/API partnerships broaden AI training access — Meta joins others to formalize access to Wikipedia content for LLM training; strategic but not an immediate revenue driver. Wikipedia signs AI content training deals
Neutral Sentiment: Near‑term catalyst: Q4/2025 earnings and 2026 guidance (scheduled Jan. 28) — results and explicit capex/FCF guidance will likely be the primary short‑term driver. Meta to Announce Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Results
Negative Sentiment: Reality Labs headcount cuts (~1,000–1,500 jobs) signal a pullback in metaverse investment — while lowering costs, the layoffs underscore a strategic pivot (and product risk) away from VR, which can unsettle investors focused on long‑term innovation stories. Meta Cuts Reality Labs Jobs
Negative Sentiment: Capex and free‑cash‑flow pressure — analysts and articles highlight materially higher 2026 capex and declining LTM FCF, which has prompted some downgrades and valuation concerns; that pressure can weigh on the stock until FCF trends stabilize. Meta Compute: Capex/FCF analysis
Negative Sentiment: Insider selling / high‑profile sales — recent disclosures show COO Javier Olivan has sold blocks of shares; combined with other negative headlines this can amplify short‑term selling pressure. SEC filing: Olivan sale
Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades and valuation skepticism — some firms have trimmed targets or expressed caution about the funding intensity and timing of AI monetization, which keeps shares vulnerable to multiple compression. Analyst downgrade reports

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.1%

Meta Platforms stock opened at $620.25 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $641.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $699.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market cap of $1.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.29. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $479.80 and a 52 week high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.89% and a return on equity of 39.35%. The business had revenue of $51.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.03 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 9.28%.

About Meta Platforms

(Free Report)

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.