Annex Advisory Services LLC Sells 3,450 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Annex Advisory Services reduced its Meta Platforms stake by 3.1%, selling 3,450 shares and retaining 106,722 shares valued at approximately $77.4 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of Meta’s stock.
• Meta shares opened at $709.33, with a market capitalization of about $1.81 trillion. The company reported $60.8 billion in quarterly revenue, up 28% year over year, but missed earnings estimates with EPS of $6.18 versus the $7.19 consensus.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $808.88, although targets vary significantly. Meta also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, while insiders sold 148,331 shares worth roughly $101.2 million over the past 90 days.

Annex Advisory Services LLC reduced its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 106,722 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 3,450 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 1.3% of Annex Advisory Services LLC's holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Annex Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $77,393,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Advantage Trust Co bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Philadelphia Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Horizons Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Schuylkill Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $709.33 on Monday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $779.82. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $655.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $626.49. The firm has a market cap of $1.81 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.72, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.19.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The company had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $7.14 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st were paid 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,196 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total value of $5,063,409.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at $7,260,343.46. This trade represents a 41.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, 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 Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total transaction of $28,510,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 184,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $131,515,624.16. This trade represents 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 148,331 shares of company stock valued at $101,233,569 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America expects Meta to exceed third-quarter revenue expectations, forecasting $63.8 billion versus a $63.3 billion consensus estimate, and maintained a Buy rating with an $810 price target. Meta expected to beat revenue forecasts as AI boosts advertising, says Bank of America
• Positive Sentiment: Meta released the open-weight Muse Spark model for coding and AI-agent tasks, while its collaboration with Apple enables developers to run the model locally on high-end Mac computers. The developments could broaden adoption of Meta’s AI technology and reduce reliance on cloud infrastructure. Meta releases open-weight Muse Spark model
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan reaffirmed its Overweight rating and set a $920 price target, implying substantial upside, while other analysts including KeyCorp and Rosenblatt also maintained positive ratings. JPMorgan reaffirms Meta rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is expected to report third-quarter results on October 21. Investors will focus on advertising growth, user metrics, profitability, capital expenditures, and management’s outlook for AI infrastructure spending. Meta Q3 earnings estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta withdrew $25 million from a previously announced $65 million effort to support political candidates considered favorable to the AI industry. The move may reduce near-term spending but signals a change in its political strategy. Meta Withdraws $25 Million from Its Midterms Push
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst-related pressure is weighing on the stock after Goldman Sachs lowered its expectations and Meta was reported down following an analyst downgrade, countering the more bullish JPMorgan view. Meta stock price down on analyst downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that AI infrastructure spending could reach approximately $205 billion in 2027. Heavy capital expenditures are reducing free cash flow, while potential legal charges and regulatory scrutiny add to earnings risk. Meta AI spending could hit $205 billion
• Negative Sentiment: Seven U.S. senators are questioning Meta’s claim of $6.6 billion in research tax credits for AI data centers, creating potential tax liability and reputational risk. Senators question Meta AI data-center tax credits

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $820.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. China Renaissance decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $700.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $720.00 to $580.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $920.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday. Finally, CICC Research dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $773.00 to $700.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $808.88.

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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