Baker Avenue Asset Management LP Acquires 7,897 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Baker Avenue Asset Management LP grew its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 24.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 40,184 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,897 shares during the quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $29,510,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 192,591,101 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $142,149,566,000 after acquiring an additional 1,532,568 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.9% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $64,158,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,650,435 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 51,575,209 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $37,902,948,000 after purchasing an additional 682,768 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth $23,155,393,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 14,489,621 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $10,694,644,000 after buying an additional 262,550 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $716.50 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.81 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.49, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $652.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $695.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 2.60 and a current ratio of 2.60. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $479.80 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its 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 return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 30.08%.The firm had revenue of $59.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.33 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $8.02 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 8.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on META shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $860.00 price target (up from $750.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $910.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 1st. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $900.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $847.98.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat and cash-flow cushion justify large AI capex: Meta reported 24% revenue growth (Q4) and strong operating cash flow that analysts say supports the company’s ~$125–135B 2026 capex plan to build AI infrastructure — framing the spend as growth-investment rather than reckless outlay. Meta Platforms: Don’t Fear AI Spending
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street lifts price targets: Multiple firms raised targets (examples include Cantor Fitzgerald to $860 and several published raises up to ~$1,144), signaling renewed analyst confidence after the quarter — this upward pressure on targets supports bullish sentiment. Cantor Fitzgerald Hikes Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Positive analyst commentary and AI narrative: Several bullish write-ups argue Meta’s huge AI investment and vertical integration (chips, data centers, models) are strategic advantages that can drive sustained ad and platform monetization growth. Meta Platforms’ $135 Billion Bet Makes Complete Sense
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst notes and conference-call nuance: Some firms reiterated Hold or balanced views, and the earnings call highlighted booming ad revenue but also sharply higher costs — a reminder that margin/return on the capex will be watched closely. Hold Rating Reiterated at Needham
• Negative Sentiment: Patent lawsuit over smart glasses adds legal/operational risk: A pending patent suit targets Meta’s smart-glasses program, creating potential damages, injunction risk, and distraction as the company scales hardware/AR initiatives. Patent Lawsuit Tests Meta Smart Glasses
• Negative Sentiment: Trial activity begins in Santa Fe: Jury selection for a separate legal matter is starting, keeping litigation headlines active and creating headline-driven volatility risk. Meta on trial: Jury selection to begin
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrade hit: At least one downgrade pushed the stock down intraday (~3% noted in reports), showing that not all firms have upgraded conviction and that negative notes still trigger selling pressure. Trading Down 3% on Analyst Downgrade

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $665.00, for a total transaction of $343,805.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 10,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,737,780. This represents a 4.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $658.69, for a total value of $341,860.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 28,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,876,738.02. This represents a 1.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 39,596 shares of company stock valued at $24,281,890. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

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.