672 Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Bought by Fagan Associates Inc.

Key Points

• Fagan Associates increased its Meta Platforms position by 3.5% in the third quarter, adding 672 shares to hold 20,102 shares valued at approximately $14.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.91% of Meta’s stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with Meta receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $796.51; several firms recently raised targets as high as $1,000.
• Meta’s AI expansion is supporting investor optimism, but substantial planned capital spending of up to $145 billion and the company’s premium valuation remain key risks. Recent insider sales and the upcoming third-quarter results will also be closely watched.

Fagan Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 3.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,102 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 672 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 1.7% of Fagan Associates Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Fagan Associates Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $14,578,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Horizons Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Philadelphia Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Schuylkill Financial LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta introduced Muse Wonder and Muse Wonder Full, frontier AI models designed for complex, multi-step personal and professional tasks. The launch supports the view that Meta is catching up with OpenAI and Anthropic while creating potential subscription and advertising opportunities. Meta Platforms Introduces AI Tools to Fine-Tune Facebook Algorithms
• Positive Sentiment: Third-party app data reportedly showed strong early retention for Meta’s standalone Muse assistant, helping ease concerns about slowing downloads and reinforcing expectations that the company’s AI investments can improve engagement and monetization. Why Meta Stock Is Up Today
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street support strengthened, with Truist assigning a $1,000 price target and KeyCorp and Rosenblatt reaffirming bullish ratings with targets of $900 and $886, respectively. Analysts cited Muse adoption and AI-driven advertising improvements as catalysts. Social Media Stocks Rally as Truist Sets $1,000 Meta Target
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s partnership with Virtuix expanded, with Omni One orders reportedly tripling year over year after becoming available for Meta Quest. The development provides modest support for demand across Meta’s virtual-reality ecosystem. Virtuix Deepens Meta Partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: Facebook is giving users more control over feed-ranking algorithms. The move may improve user trust and engagement, although greater personalization controls could affect content distribution and ad performance. Facebook Gives Users More Algorithm Control
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain cautious about Meta’s premium valuation and substantial AI spending, with planned capital expenditures reportedly reaching $130 billion to $145 billion. Third-quarter results, scheduled for October 21, will be important for validating AI monetization and revenue guidance. Meta Q3 Preview

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on META. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $740.00 to $955.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Arete Research lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $735.00 to $806.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $720.00 to $580.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $750.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $796.51.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total transaction of $4,379,184.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 828 shares of the company's stock, valued at $462,024. This trade represents a 90.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing 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 Li sold 9,196 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total value 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. The trade was a 41.09% 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 have sold a total of 148,222 shares of company stock valued at $101,033,627 over the last three months. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $762.50 on Wednesday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $647.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $622.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The company has a market cap of $1.94 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.19. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $779.82.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). The business had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%. The business's revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $7.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders 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 7.91%.

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 operates a global family of apps that includes Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads, enabling users to connect, communicate, share content and discover communities.

Meta generates most of its business through digital advertising displayed across its platforms. Its products serve individuals, creators, businesses and organizations in markets around the world, while its advertising tools help businesses reach audiences based on factors such as interests, activity and demographics.

Through its Reality Labs division, Meta develops virtual and augmented reality hardware, software and services, including the Meta Quest line of headsets and related experiences.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.