Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. Raises Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 184.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,473 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,251 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 0.6% of Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,551,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 237.5% in the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, WFA Asset Management Corp increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 42.6% in the 2nd quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 67 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta agreed to buy Singapore/China‑rooted AI agent startup Manus (reported deal value ~$2 billion), positioning Meta to speed up deployment of autonomous agents across consumer and business products. Meta Pays $2 Billion for Singapore AI Startup Manus
• Positive Sentiment: Manus brings scale and subscription revenue (reports say it already serves millions of paying users), which could accelerate monetization of Meta’s AI features and shorten time to product integration. Meta Buys AI Startup Manus, Adding Millions of Paying Users
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street stays constructive: Baird’s Colin Sebastian reiterated a Buy (slight trim to his target), and broader analyst coverage and price‑target upgrades this year keep a bullish backdrop for META. Colin Sebastian on Meta Platforms
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta’s acquisition streak and AI roadmap (new models and agent efforts) underpin multi‑quarter growth expectations, but they also imply higher near‑term AI spend — investors are weighing long‑term upside vs short‑term cost. Meta Buys Manus. What the China-Founded AI Start-Up Brings for Zuckerberg.
• Negative Sentiment: Near‑term selling pressure: recent profit‑taking and notable insider sales have pressured the stock in the last session, reminding investors that returns can be volatile around big strategic moves. Meta stock slips on Monday
• Negative Sentiment: Geopolitical and regulatory risk: Manus’s China/Singapore roots have drawn attention; acquiring a company with Chinese ties may invite extra scrutiny or integration complexity. Meta to acquire Chinese startup Manus

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $646.00, for a total value of $374,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,983,882. This represents a 8.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $659.38, for a total transaction of $342,218.22. Following the sale, the insider owned 29,177 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,238,730.26. This trade represents a 1.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 41,038 shares of company stock valued at $25,587,621 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Arete Research set a $718.00 price objective on Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $905.00 to $875.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $925.00 to $815.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $720.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $820.22.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $658.69 on Tuesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $479.80 and a 1 year high of $796.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The company’s 50-day moving average is $653.34 and its 200 day moving average is $706.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.66 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.28.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 9.28%.

About Meta Platforms

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.