2,791 Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Sigma Planning Corp

Key Points

• Sigma Planning Corp. reduced its Meta Platforms position by 7.7%, selling 2,791 shares and retaining 33,356 shares valued at approximately $24.2 million.
• Other major institutions—including State Street, Bank of America, UBS, Amundi and Dimensional Fund Advisors—expanded their Meta holdings; institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 79.91% of the stock.
• Meta exceeded quarterly expectations with $7.40 in EPS and $64.6 billion in revenue, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $833.12.

Sigma Planning Corp trimmed its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 7.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 33,356 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 2,791 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 0.6% of Sigma Planning Corp's holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Sigma Planning Corp's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $24,193,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 3,510,123 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 2,673,494 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.3% during 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 Meta Platforms by 18.1% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,429,812 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,964,745,000 after purchasing an additional 404,948 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META opened at $614.99 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $779.82. The stock has a market cap of $1.57 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.19. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $670.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $632.26.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. The company had revenue of $64.60 billion during 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 26.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $7.25 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 21st. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.16%.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total value of $21,359,386.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,196 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total transaction of $5,063,409.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,260,343.46. This represents a 41.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 have sold 150,015 shares of company stock valued at $102,464,300. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the topic of a number of research reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Yorkville Ives initiated coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $900.00 price target for the company. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. China Renaissance cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $700.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $833.12.

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.

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