Ritholtz Wealth Management lessened its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 36,602 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,510 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $24,161,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $20,230,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,537,000 after buying an additional 875 shares during the period. Headwater Capital Co Ltd raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 294.7% during the 1st quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd now owns 150,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $86,454,000 after buying an additional 112,000 shares during the period. Dymon Asia Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at $213,000. Finally, Capital & Planning LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth $322,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $688.55 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $627.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $650.79. 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 one year low of $479.80 and a one year high of $796.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.74 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.31.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.16 by $0.72. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The firm had revenue of $59.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $8.02 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 8.94%.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Expanded AI partnerships and infrastructure deals boost revenue/AI roadmap visibility — Meta deepened and extended its Broadcom AI‑chip relationship (scaling capacity through 2029), supporting faster AI feature rollout and higher ad/engagement monetization potential. Meta Platforms Taps AVGO for AI Expansion: Buy or Hold META Stock?
• Positive Sentiment: Large capacity commitments to CoreWeave underline sizable, long‑dated AI infrastructure spending that supports Meta’s compute roadmap and revenue mix. This signals durable demand for Meta’s AI stack and gives investors visibility on AI spend scale. CoreWeave’s April Shockwave — Meta, Anthropic, Jane Street All Say Yes
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: TD Cowen reiterated a buy and assigned a high $820 price target, which can drive positive sentiment and flows into the stock. Meta Platforms NASDAQ: META Receives Buy Rating from TD Cowen
• Neutral Sentiment: Hardware pricing update: Meta will raise U.S. prices for Quest VR headsets to offset rising component costs — a margin/profitability mix impact that’s ambiguous for top‑line growth. Meta to raise Quest VR headset prices in US on rising component costs
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider sales: COO Javier Olivan sold shares under a pre‑arranged 10b5‑1 plan (disclosed SEC filing) — routine but noted by traders as liquidity/positioning data. SEC ownership filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Reputation/regulatory watch: Reports of AI‑generated fake influencer accounts across platforms (TikTok/Instagram/Facebook) add moderation and policy risk, but near‑term financial impact is uncertain. Hundreds of Fake Pro-Trump Avatars Emerge on Social Media
• Negative Sentiment: Major layoffs planned: Reuters reports Meta will cut roughly 10% of its global workforce (~8,000 jobs) in an initial wave targeted for May 20, with additional rounds later in 2026. That reduces near‑term operating costs but raises execution, morale and product roadmap risk; markets often react variably to large cuts. Exclusive: Meta targets May 20 for first wave of layoffs; additional cuts later in 2026
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory pressure in Europe: The European Commission is considering interim measures to force WhatsApp policy rollbacks that could limit how third‑party AI services access WhatsApp Business — a potential hit to monetization plans in a key market. European Action On WhatsApp AI Access Tests Meta’s Monetization Plans

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on META shares. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Argus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $800.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $855.00 to $760.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Roth Mkm reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $837.72.

View Our Latest Report on Meta Platforms

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total transaction of $1,748,612.10. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 10,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,645,103.65. The trade was a 20.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $667.00, for a total transaction of $386,860.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,847 shares in the company, valued at $2,565,949. This trade represents a 13.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 165,079 shares of company stock worth $105,624,755 over the last three months. Insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

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.

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This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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