962 Shares in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Bought by Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida

Key Points

• Canandaigua National Trust Co. of Florida acquired 962 Meta shares worth approximately $698,000 in the third quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 79.91% of Meta’s stock.
• Meta insiders sold 148,222 shares valued at roughly $101 million during the last quarter, including sales by CEO Mark Zuckerberg and COO Javier Olivan under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans.
• Meta recently traded at $721.31, while analysts maintained a generally favorable outlook with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $791.86. The company’s latest earnings missed EPS expectations but exceeded revenue estimates, and it declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share.

Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida acquired a new position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 962 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $698,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Watchman Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the first quarter. Watchman Group Inc. now owns 5,091 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $2,913,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Penney Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.9% in the first quarter. Penney Financial LLC now owns 399 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 1.0% in the first quarter. Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $869,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. CWS Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the first quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC now owns 985 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $564,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. Finally, Tenzing Financial LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Tenzing Financial LLC now owns 1,210 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $726,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $728.08, for a total value of $688,763.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 7,878 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,735,814.24. The trade was a 10.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total value of $21,359,386.56. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 148,222 shares of company stock worth $101,033,627 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 2.4%

Meta Platforms stock opened at $721.31 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.84 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.17, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.19. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $634.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $618.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week high of $779.82.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st were issued a $0.5250 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 21st. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is 7.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $650.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Mizuho set a $750.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "buy" rating and set a $886.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Citic Securities dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $718.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, HSBC cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $905.00 to $830.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $791.86.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target on Meta Platforms to $1,000 from $796 while maintaining an Overweight rating. The analyst cited strong investor enthusiasm for Meta’s Muse AI product cycle. Wells Fargo raises Meta price target to $1,000
• Positive Sentiment: Meta expanded its Muse personal AI assistant to a dedicated iPad application shortly after its mobile debut. Strong app-download rankings could help Meta build user engagement and create future monetization opportunities, although sustained usage remains unproven. Meta Muse launches on iPad
• Positive Sentiment: Meta and Sierra are developing the Personal Agent Protocol with companies including Shopify, Stripe and Walmart. A common standard for AI agents to interact with businesses could strengthen Meta’s position in emerging agent-based commerce. Meta and Sierra launch AI-agent protocol
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts maintain a generally favorable view, with 44 of 57 covering firms rating the stock Buy and the consensus recommendation at Moderate Buy. Meta receives Moderate Buy consensus
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor Dan Niles suggested Meta could eventually launch a public cloud business to monetize its AI infrastructure, but this remains speculation rather than a disclosed company plan. Dan Niles discusses Meta cloud opportunity
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports clarified that AMD’s stock milestone does not automatically give Meta 160 million AMD shares; the companies’ warrant arrangements have been subject to inaccurate interpretations. AMD and Meta warrant clarification
• Negative Sentiment: COO Javier Olivan sold shares worth roughly $1.15 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The scheduled nature reduces the signal’s significance, but the sales can still add short-term pressure after Meta’s recent advance. Meta COO insider transaction filing
• Negative Sentiment: Investors also face macroeconomic pressure from interest rates above 5% and a potential multibillion-dollar New Mexico penalty, with a ruling expected this month. The legal exposure remains uncertain but represents a material risk. New Mexico legal case involving Meta

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 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.

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