844 Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Means Investment CO. Inc.

Key Points

• Means Investment reduced its Meta stake by 2.8%, selling 844 shares in the third quarter. It retained 29,602 shares, valued at about $21.5 million.
• Meta reported quarterly EPS of $7.40, above the $6.54 analyst estimate, while revenue of $64.6 billion also exceeded forecasts and rose 26.1% year over year.
• Company insiders sold about 150,973 shares worth $103.1 million over the prior three months; the reported transactions were made under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans.

Means Investment CO. Inc. lowered its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 2.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,602 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 844 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 1.5% of Means Investment CO. Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Means Investment CO. Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $21,467,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Corient Private Wealth LP lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 723.1% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 8,801,764 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $4,957,946,000 after acquiring an additional 7,732,446 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at $2,948,486,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $51,841,811,000 after buying an additional 3,510,123 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.6% during the first 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 buying an additional 2,673,494 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 18.1% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 11,858,972 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $6,784,873,000 after acquiring an additional 1,815,017 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Christopher Cox sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total value of $28,510,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 184,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at $131,515,624.16. This represents a 17.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan Li sold 9,196 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 150,973 shares of company stock valued at $103,128,307 in the last three months. 13.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $623.61 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.59 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $779.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The company's fifty day moving average price is $679.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $631.88.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The social networking company reported $7.40 earnings per share (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 analysts' expectations of $63.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 31.15% and a return on equity of 30.73%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 26.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $7.25 earnings per share. As a group, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st were paid a $0.5250 dividend. 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 (DPR) is presently 7.16%.

Latest Meta Platforms News

Here's some of the latest news about META:

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan named Meta its preferred internet stock, citing AI-enhanced advertising and the potential for Family of Apps ad revenue to compare favorably with Google Search. Meta Platforms Wins JPMorgan Backing
• Neutral Sentiment: Infrastructure chief Santosh Janardhan plans to leave in early 2027, with former AWS executive David Brown set to take over. The handoff is planned, though the leadership change comes as Meta expands its AI computing infrastructure. Meta Head of Infrastructure Will Leave
• Neutral Sentiment: COO Javier Olivan reported stock sales under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. Such planned sales are not necessarily a signal about the company’s outlook, but may still draw investor attention. SEC ownership filing

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the topic of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $750.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Benchmark reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $1,000.00 to $995.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn raised 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $833.12.

Meta Platforms Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc. is a global technology company that develops social networking, messaging, and digital communication products. Its services include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Threads, which connect people and help businesses reach audiences around the world. The company also develops virtual and augmented reality products and technologies through its Reality Labs division, including Quest headsets and related software and services. Advertising is a central part of Meta's business, with its platforms providing tools for businesses to promote products and services.

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