Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stock: Means Investment CO. Inc. Trims Holdings

Means Investment CO. Inc. lowered its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 29,602 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 844 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 1.5% of Means Investment CO. Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Means Investment CO. Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $21,467,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Corient Private Wealth LP raised its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth $2,948,486,000. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.0% during the second 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 increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.6% in 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 buying an additional 2,673,494 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 18.1% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 11,858,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $6,784,873,000 after buying an additional 1,815,017 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on META. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $580.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Mizuho upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Phillip Securities raised shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $795.00 to $750.00 in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $850.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $763.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Three equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $833.12.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $623.61 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $779.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.59 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $679.23 and a 200-day moving average of $631.88.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The social networking company reported $7.40 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $64.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $7.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

These are some of the META headlines that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: ETFs bought about $99.7 million of Meta shares on Nov. 10, a sign of institutional fund demand. ETFs Bought $99.7 Million of Meta Platforms
• Neutral Sentiment: COO Javier Olivan reported stock sales under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. Such planned sales are not necessarily a signal about the company’s outlook, but may still draw investor attention. SEC ownership filing
• Negative Sentiment: United Airlines barred AI agents from booking flights, raising doubts about a prominent potential use case for Meta’s Muse agent and adding pressure to expectations for AI-related growth. United Airlines Bars AI Agents From Booking Tickets

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total value of $21,359,386.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 3,240 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $618.06, for a total value of $2,002,514.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,875,854.26. This trade represents a 34.07% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 150,973 shares of company stock worth $103,128,307. Company insiders own 13.42% of the company’s stock.

About Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc. is a global technology company that develops social networking, messaging, and digital communication products. Its services include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Threads, which connect people and help businesses reach audiences around the world. The company also develops virtual and augmented reality products and technologies through its Reality Labs division, including Quest headsets and related software and services. Advertising is a central part of Meta’s business, with its platforms providing tools for businesses to promote products and services.