2,191 Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Wedbush Securities Inc.

Key Points

• Wedbush Securities reduced its Meta stake by 3.8%, selling 2,191 shares during the third quarter and retaining 55,930 shares worth approximately $40.6 million.
• Institutional investors hold 79.91% of Meta’s shares, with major firms including Corient, State Street, Bank of America, and Amundi increasing their positions.
• Meta insiders sold roughly 150,015 shares worth $102.5 million over the past 90 days, while analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $833.12 price target.

Wedbush Securities Inc. cut its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 55,930 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 2,191 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 1.0% of Wedbush Securities Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Wedbush Securities Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $40,560,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of META. Corient Private Wealth LP lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 723.1% in the 2nd 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 buying an additional 7,732,446 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth $2,948,486,000. State Street Corp raised 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 worth $51,841,811,000 after acquiring an additional 3,510,123 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings 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 worth $12,036,491,000 after acquiring an additional 2,673,494 shares during 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 worth $6,784,873,000 after acquiring an additional 1,815,017 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Christopher Cox sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total value of $28,510,400.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 184,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $131,515,624.16. This trade represents a 17.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total transaction of $21,359,386.56. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on META. Benchmark reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Roth Capital reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $750.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $895.00 to $905.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $920.00 to $940.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $833.12.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $612.49 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $667.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $632.53. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $779.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.56 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.88, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.19. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The social networking company reported $7.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.86. The firm had revenue of $64.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 30.73% and a net margin of 31.15%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $7.25 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.98 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st were issued a dividend of $0.5250 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 21st. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.16%.

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.

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