Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stock Sold by Valley National Advisers Inc.

Valley National Advisers Inc. reduced its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 41.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,514 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 3,870 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,999,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.0% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 92,033,963 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $51,841,811,000 after buying an additional 3,510,123 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.6% during the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 2,673,494 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 12,836,063 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $7,230,426,000 after purchasing an additional 162,909 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 18.1% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 11,858,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,784,873,000 after purchasing an additional 1,815,017 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,429,812 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,964,745,000 after purchasing an additional 404,948 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.5%

META stock opened at $614.99 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.57 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.97, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.19. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $779.82. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $670.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $632.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $840.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $800.00 price target (down from $850.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $930.00 to $950.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $833.12.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 5,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,225,600. The trade was a 15.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 150,015 shares of company stock valued at $102,464,300 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Company 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.