Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stock: Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA Boosts Stake

Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA lifted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 277,550 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,311 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 1.9% of Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $201,274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in META. Corient Private Wealth LP grew its position in Meta Platforms by 723.1% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 8,801,764 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $4,957,946,000 after acquiring an additional 7,732,446 shares during the period. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth about $2,948,486,000. State Street Corp raised its position in Meta Platforms by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 92,033,963 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $51,841,811,000 after purchasing an additional 3,510,123 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.6% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 21,038,035 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $12,036,491,000 after acquiring an additional 2,673,494 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 18.1% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 11,858,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $6,784,873,000 after purchasing an additional 1,815,017 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on META shares. Arete Research lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $735.00 to $806.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $840.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $930.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. Wedbush lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $730.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Pivotal Research lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $930.00 to $960.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $833.12.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of META stock opened at $614.99 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $520.26 and a 52-week high of $779.82. The stock has a market cap of $1.57 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.97, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.19. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $670.03 and its 200-day moving average is $632.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The social networking company reported $7.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.86. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 31.15% and a return on equity of 30.73%. The firm had revenue of $64.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $7.25 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.01 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st were paid a $0.5250 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 21st. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 7.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $640.00, for a total value of $605,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 5,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,225,600. This trade represents a 15.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 150,015 shares of company stock valued at $102,464,300. 13.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta settled a teen lawsuit alleging that Instagram and Facebook contributed to addiction, depression and eating disorders. Financial terms were not disclosed, but the agreement removes Meta from an upcoming Los Angeles trial and reduces near-term litigation uncertainty. Reuters settlement report
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s advertising fundamentals remain strong: recent coverage cited higher ad pricing, rising impressions, improved AI-driven ad conversions and strong engagement. Analysts also see meaningful upside, with one fair-value estimate raised from $813.65 to $848.38 per share. Meta fair value report
• Positive Sentiment: Meta expanded its relationship with Advanced Micro Devices, including a $1 billion equity investment and multi-generation chip co-design for Meta’s AI data centers. The deal may improve access to computing capacity and supplier diversification. AMD and Meta partnership report

Meta Platforms Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc is a technology company that develops social networking, messaging, virtual and augmented reality, and artificial intelligence products. The company’s principal platforms include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Threads, which enable users to connect, communicate, share content, and discover products and services.

Meta also operates Reality Labs, its division focused on virtual, augmented, and mixed reality technologies. Reality Labs develops products such as Meta Quest virtual reality headsets and related software and experiences, along with research and hardware intended to support immersive computing.