6,103 Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by ICW Investment Advisors LLC

Key Points

• ICW Investment Advisors cut its Meta stake by 66.8% in the third quarter, selling 6,103 shares and retaining 3,039 shares valued at $2.205 million.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own about 79.91% of Meta shares; several major investors, including State Street and Bank of America, increased their positions.
• Meta reported quarterly EPS of $7.40, beating the $6.54 analyst consensus, while revenue of $64.6 billion topped estimates and grew 26.1% year over year.

ICW Investment Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 66.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,039 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 6,103 shares during the period. ICW Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,205,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of META. State Street Corp increased its position 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 lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 14.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 21,038,035 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $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 boosted its position in 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 valued at $7,230,426,000 after buying an additional 162,909 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 1,815,017 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 404,948 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,196 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company's stock, valued at $7,260,343.46. This represents a 41.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total transaction of $28,510,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 184,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $131,515,624.16. The trade was a 17.82% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 149,515 shares of company stock valued at $102,183,520 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s bond sale attracted orders reportedly reaching $58 billion, a sign of robust investor appetite for the company’s debt. That demand may have helped support the stock despite concerns about Big Tech’s AI spending. Article: Meta stock rises as $20B bond sale attracts strong investor demand
• Positive Sentiment: Meta completed a $15 billion, five-part U.S. bond sale. The successful issuance gives the company capital to support its investment plans, while recent earnings-call coverage highlighted ad growth and adoption of its Muse AI tools. Article: Meta raises $15 billion in five-part US bond sale Article: META Q3 Earnings Call Put Spotlight on Muse Growth and AI Spending
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta and Snap settled claims related to alleged harm to young users from social media; financial terms were not disclosed. The settlements avert the scheduled trial, but do not resolve broader scrutiny of platform design. Article: Snap Settled a Social Media Addiction Suit
• Negative Sentiment: The bond financing underscores the cost of Meta’s AI ambitions. Reports indicate borrowing costs rose, while the company is ramping up spending on data centers and AI models—raising questions about returns and pressure on future cash flow. Article: Apple Shares Slip, Meta Debt Costs Rise Article: Meta seeks to raise up to $25 billion in debt sale as AI spending jumps
• Negative Sentiment: Meta postponed new business terms after backlash over potential web scraping, and reports of its AI crawler overwhelming a small business website add to reputational and policy risks. Article: Meta delays new business terms after outcry over potential web scraping of news sites

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META stock opened at $621.03 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $672.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $632.16. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $779.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market cap of $1.59 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.28.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. 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 analysts' expectations 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 prior year, the business earned $7.25 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 is currently 7.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of several research analyst reports. President Capital upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $660.00 to $897.00 in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $885.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Citic Securities lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $718.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Tigress Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $945.00 target price (down from $995.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $810.00 to $845.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Three research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $833.12.

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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