2,046 Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Atala Financial Inc

Key Points

• Atala Financial cut its Meta position by 60.1% in the third quarter, selling 2,046 shares and retaining 1,358 shares valued at approximately $985,000.
• Other institutional investors initiated positions in Meta, and institutions collectively own 79.91% of the stock.
• Meta reported quarterly revenue of $64.6 billion and EPS of $7.40, beating estimates, while analysts maintained a broadly positive outlook with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $833.12.

Atala Financial Inc trimmed its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 60.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,358 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 2,046 shares during the quarter. Atala Financial Inc's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $985,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of META. Horizons Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Advantage Trust Co bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Philadelphia Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Schuylkill Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta priced a $25 billion Class A common-stock offering and a $12.5 billion mandatory convertible preferred-stock offering, with proceeds earmarked for its artificial-intelligence infrastructure. The common offering reportedly attracted demand several times greater than the shares available, suggesting institutional interest in Meta’s AI strategy. Meta offering pricing
• Positive Sentiment: Nvidia plans to invest $3 billion in Meta and expand its partnership around Meta’s Muse AI assistant and models. The deal provides third-party validation for Meta’s AI ambitions and may help secure access to Nvidia hardware. Nvidia invests in Meta partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s core advertising business remains strong: ad impressions increased 10% year over year, average ad prices rose 14%, and AI improvements reportedly lifted app-ad conversions by 9.6%. Early adoption of Muse and new AI experiments such as Waddle World could create future commerce and subscription revenue. Meta AI risk and reward
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta delayed indefinitely the rollout of new commercial terms after publisher objections. The move could reduce near-term conflict but leaves unresolved questions about the company’s relationship with media organizations and use of publisher content. Meta delays commercial terms
• Negative Sentiment: The major concern is dilution: Meta is pursuing nearly $98 billion in equity financing, including new common and convertible preferred securities. Investors appear worried that the funding will reduce per-share value even if it finances long-term AI growth. Meta stock analysis and dilution
• Negative Sentiment: AI investment is weighing heavily on near-term financials. Capital expenditures reached $34.9 billion, producing negative free cash flow of $2.1 billion, while higher spending and legal costs pressured margins. This has led some analysts to downgrade the stock, despite revenue exceeding expectations. Meta AI spending downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Meta COO Javier Olivan sold shares worth approximately $1.0 million in two transactions. Both sales were executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, reducing their significance as a signal of management’s outlook. SEC insider transaction filing

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms 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 transaction 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 150,015 shares of company stock worth $102,464,300. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on META. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $800.00 target price (down from $850.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $905.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $885.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Yorkville Ives initiated coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $900.00 price target for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms 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 $612.49 on Thursday. 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 $1.56 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.88, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $667.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $632.53.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The social networking company reported $7.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.86. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 30.73% and a net margin of 31.15%. The business 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 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.98 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st were paid a dividend of $0.5250 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.16%.

About Meta Platforms

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.

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