3,606 Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Talbot Financial LLC

Key Points

• Talbot Financial reduced its Meta position by 13.4%, selling 3,606 shares and retaining 23,222 shares valued at approximately $16.84 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 79.91% of Meta’s stock.
• Meta reported quarterly earnings of $7.40 per share on $64.6 billion in revenue, exceeding analyst expectations, with revenue up 26.1% year over year. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $811.24.
• Insiders sold 149,906 Meta shares worth about $102.3 million during the quarter, including transactions by CEO Mark Zuckerberg and insider Christopher Cox; the reported sales were conducted under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans.

Talbot Financial LLC lessened its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 13.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,222 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 3,606 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 1.2% of Talbot Financial LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Talbot Financial LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $16,840,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 4.0% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised 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 worth $12,036,491,000 after purchasing an additional 2,673,494 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the second 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 lifted 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 purchasing an additional 1,815,017 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 40,000 shares of the business'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 transaction of $28,510,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 184,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $131,515,624.16. This trade represents a 17.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 149,906 shares of company stock worth $102,347,409 in the last quarter. Insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on META shares. Yorkville Ives began coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $900.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $820.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. Benchmark reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. President Capital upgraded Meta Platforms from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $660.00 to $897.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $785.00 to $875.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $811.24.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $697.52 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $779.82. The company's 50 day moving average price is $662.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $629.10. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $1.78 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.19.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The social networking company reported $7.40 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $63.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%. The company's revenue was up 26.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $7.25 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.32 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 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 (DPR) is 7.91%.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Revenue and earnings exceeded expectations. Meta reported record quarterly revenue of approximately $64.6 billion, up 26% year over year and above the roughly $63.3 billion consensus estimate. Earnings of $7.40 per share also surpassed analyst expectations near $6.54. The results highlighted continued strength in advertising volume, pricing and monetization. Meta Platforms Tops Q3 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Muse is gaining meaningful traction. Meta said its AI assistant Muse has more than 10 million users, with shopping among the leading activities. Investors see the product as a potential way to increase engagement, improve recommendations and generate additional advertising and commerce revenue across Meta’s roughly 3.5 billion-user ecosystem. Meta Says Muse Has Over 10M Users
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts view the core business and AI returns favorably. Commentary following the report cited strong ad efficiency, higher engagement and healthy adjusted operating margins, supporting bullish views that Meta’s AI investments are beginning to contribute to the advertising business. Meta Q3 Strong Growth Makes This a Strong Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is expanding AI funding while trying to manage cash pressure. Third-quarter capital expenditures reached about $34.9 billion, and the company raised the low end of its annual spending outlook. A new nonvoting Class C share is intended to help fund the AI buildout without reducing Mark Zuckerberg’s voting control, but it introduces potential dilution and reinforces concerns about heavy future investment. Meta to Issue New Class of Shares
• Negative Sentiment: Legal liabilities remain a major overhang. A $9.9 billion charge tied to a teen social-media lawsuit weighed on reported profit, while a New Mexico court ordered Meta to pay $25 billion in a separate privacy case. Meta plans to appeal, but the judgment increases regulatory, financial and reputational risks. Meta Ordered to Pay $25 Billion to New Mexico
• Negative Sentiment: AI profitability is not yet established. Zuckerberg said Muse carries very high computing costs, and Reality Labs could lose approximately $15 billion next year. These losses may limit free cash flow and keep investors sensitive to whether AI growth ultimately produces returns exceeding the cost of the buildout. Meta CEO Says Muse and Reality Labs Are Unprofitable
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling added a modest cautionary signal. COO Javier Olivan sold shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. Because the transactions were scheduled in advance, they are not necessarily a judgment on Meta’s outlook, but they reduce his direct ownership. SEC Insider Ownership Filing

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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