Tradewinds LLC. Invests $1.04 Million in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Tradewinds LLC. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 1,410 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,036,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 237.5% during the second quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at $42,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, WFA Asset Management Corp raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 42.6% during the 2nd quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 67 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $800.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $835.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $840.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Barclays lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $810.00 to $770.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Guggenheim cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned 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 a consensus price target of $822.00.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $608.35, for a total transaction of $314,516.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 10,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,478,319.15. This represents a 4.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $658.69, for a total transaction of $341,860.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 28,658 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,876,738.02. This trade represents a 1.78% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 39,596 shares of company stock worth $24,277,237. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $672.97 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $1.70 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $645.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $696.04. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $479.80 and a 52 week high of $796.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.28%.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Signs of stronger monetization and AI tailwinds — analysts expect Q4 ad revenue to surge on AI-driven tools and higher engagement, boosting revenue outlook ahead of earnings. Will Higher Ad Revenues Aid Meta Platforms Stock in Q4 Earnings?
• Positive Sentiment: Big infrastructure commitment supports AI growth — Meta agreed to pay Corning up to $6 billion for fiber‑optic cables to expand U.S. AI data centers, signaling deep investment in capacity that underpins future ad and AI services. Meta signs deal to pay Corning up to $6 billion for fiber-optic cables, CNBC reports
• Positive Sentiment: New revenue stream potential — Meta is testing paid premium tiers for Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp that bundle exclusive AI features and controls, which could diversify revenue beyond ads if adoption scales. Meta to test premium subscriptions on Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings event risk/reward — Meta reports Q4 after the close Wednesday; traders expect a sizable move, making near-term volatility likely even if results are strong. Here’s How Much Traders Expect Meta Stock To Move After Wednesday’s Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Market context — Meta is a focal point of the “Magnificent 7” earnings week; macro/Fed headlines and AI‑spend scrutiny could amplify stock moves independent of company fundamentals. Tech’s massive AI spend is under scrutiny ahead of earnings. Here’s what to watch
• Negative Sentiment: Major legal overhang — Meta and YouTube head to a high‑profile youth‑addiction trial this week (TikTok and Snap settled), creating reputational and potential financial risk depending on jury outcome and damages. TikTok joins Snap to settle social media addiction lawsuit, as Meta and YouTube head to trial
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and policy risks — Global moves to restrict children’s social‑media use (e.g., Egypt and other countries debating limits) add policy risk that could affect user engagement and compliance costs. Egypt to adopt restrictions on children’s social media use to fight ‘digital chaos’
• Negative Sentiment: Expense/capex scrutiny — Investors will focus on 2026 expense guidance and Reality Labs losses; aggressive AI and infra spending could pressure margins and drive near‑term stock volatility. Meta Platforms’ 2026 expense guidance in focus ahead of Q4 earnings

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.