Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stock Holdings Lifted by Willis Investment Counsel

Posted by Brenda Bartman on Sep 4th, 2026

Willis Investment Counsel grew its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) by 21.5% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 19,367 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,422 shares during the quarter. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $10,909,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $132,015,115,000 after acquiring an additional 7,269,279 shares in the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its position in Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 105,292,277 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $69,502,379,000 after acquiring an additional 105,154,977 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 90,841,345 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $59,963,463,000 after purchasing an additional 4,395,763 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 52,806,712 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,734,628,000 after purchasing an additional 878,396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 39,558,637 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $26,112,735,000 after purchasing an additional 310,947 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

Positive Sentiment: Meta unveiled Muse Spark 1.3, an upgraded AI model that AI chief Alexandr Wang says delivers the company’s biggest performance improvement yet and is comparable with offerings from Anthropic and OpenAI. The announcement strengthened expectations that Meta can compete more effectively in generative AI and monetize its large user base. Meta Rises 4% as Muse Spark 1.3 Claims Parity With Anthropic and OpenAI
Positive Sentiment: Analysts said Meta’s settlement of major social-media litigation could remove a legal overhang and accelerate the launch of new AI products. Some investors view the settlement as manageable relative to Meta’s scale and believe teen-usage restrictions may have limited revenue impact. Meta settlement could clear the way for new AI product launches, Morgan Stanley says
Positive Sentiment: Investment commentary highlighted Meta as one of the leading “hyperscalers” supporting the AI ecosystem, with strong revenue growth, user engagement and long-term AI monetization potential. Hyperscalers are the backbone of AI
Neutral Sentiment: Wedbush reaffirmed its Neutral rating, signaling that the AI opportunity is balanced by valuation, execution and spending concerns. Wedbush Reaffirms Neutral Rating for Meta Platforms
Negative Sentiment: Meta reportedly agreed to pay as much as $17 billion over 10 years and make major changes to Instagram and Facebook for teen users. The settlement may reduce legal uncertainty, but its cost and potential limits on engagement create financial and operating risks. Meta Is Making These Major Changes for Teen Users After $17 Billion Settlement
Negative Sentiment: Commentary warned that AI infrastructure spending could approach $145 billion, compressing free cash flow even as revenue grows. Investors also remain concerned about Meta’s dependence on successful AI execution to justify a recovery toward its prior high. Meta Stock Has a New AI Catalyst
Negative Sentiment: Meta is paying users to share how they use its latest AI model, raising privacy and reputational concerns that could complicate adoption. Separately, the company disabled cameras on some AI glasses after detecting tampering with recording lights. Meta is paying to peek at how you use their latest AI model

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $610.68 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.00, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $594.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $609.21. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month high of $790.80.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.The business had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $7.14 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $800.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. UBS Group cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $766.00 to $715.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Monness Crespi & Hardt reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $890.00 to $730.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $785.00 price target (down from $800.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Arete Research set a $735.00 price objective on Meta Platforms and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $785.22.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Meta Platforms

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,196 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total value of $5,063,409.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,260,343.46. This represents a 41.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total transaction of $4,379,184.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $462,024. The trade was a 90.46% decrease in their position. 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 32,987 shares of company stock valued at $19,202,995 in the last 90 days. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.