3,870 Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Valley National Advisers Inc.

Key Points

• Valley National Advisers reduced its Meta position by 41.2%, selling 3,870 shares and retaining 5,514 shares valued at approximately $4.0 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 79.91% of Meta.
• Meta reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with earnings of $7.40 per share and revenue of $64.6 billion, up 26.1% year over year. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $833.12.
• Recent developments include a settlement of a teen social-media addiction lawsuit, continued strength in advertising driven by AI improvements, and a new partnership with AMD involving a $1 billion investment and AI data-center chip development.

Valley National Advisers Inc. cut its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 41.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,514 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 3,870 shares during the quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,999,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Radnor Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC now owns 1,700 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,233,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Meridian Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at about $214,000. Code Waechter LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 37.4% during the 3rd quarter. Code Waechter LLC now owns 1,808 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,311,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares during the period. Bernardo Wealth Planning LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 116.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bernardo Wealth Planning LLC now owns 4,182 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $3,033,000 after purchasing an additional 2,246 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MN Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 7.2% in the third quarter. MN Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,179 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,580,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $614.99 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.57 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.19. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week high of $779.82. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $670.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $632.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The social networking company reported $7.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.86. The company had revenue of $64.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 30.73% and a net margin of 31.15%. Meta Platforms's quarterly revenue was up 26.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $7.25 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.01 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st were given a dividend of $0.5250 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 21st. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the subject of several recent research reports. Moffett Nathanson lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $740.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Phillip Securities upgraded Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $795.00 to $750.00 in a report on Monday, August 3rd. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $905.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $763.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, President Capital upgraded Meta Platforms from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $660.00 to $897.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $833.12.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $640.00, for a total value of $605,440.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 5,040 shares in the company, valued at $3,225,600. This trade represents a 15.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 150,015 shares of company stock valued at $102,464,300. 13.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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