Avantax Planning Partners Inc. Purchases 921 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Avantax Planning Partners increased its Meta stake by 12.3%, buying 921 shares in the third quarter to hold 8,397 shares valued at about $6.09 million.
• Analysts have a “Moderate Buy” consensus on Meta, with an average price target of $833.12; 50 analysts rate the stock Buy or Strong Buy, while seven rate it Hold.
• Meta beat quarterly expectations, reporting $7.40 earnings per share and $64.6 billion in revenue; revenue rose 26.1% year over year.

Avantax Planning Partners Inc. increased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,397 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 921 shares during the quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $6,089,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of META. Candriam S.C.A. grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 49.1% in the 3rd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 403,580 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $293,737,000 after purchasing an additional 132,856 shares during the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 16.0% during the 3rd quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 1,286 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $933,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. American State Bank Iowa lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. American State Bank Iowa now owns 1,117 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $810,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc. now owns 1,921 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,418,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Henderson Brothers Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.6% during the third quarter. Henderson Brothers Financial Partners LLC now owns 699 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $507,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on META shares. President Capital upgraded Meta Platforms from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $660.00 to $897.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Moffett Nathanson decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $740.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Yorkville Ives assumed coverage on Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $900.00 target price for the company. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Citizens Jmp reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $885.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Three research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $833.12.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $631.03, for a total value of $596,954.38. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 3,148 shares in the company, valued at $1,986,482.44. This trade represents a 23.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 150,973 shares of company stock valued at $103,128,307. Corporate insiders own 13.42% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META opened at $623.61 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $679.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $631.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $779.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.59 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.86. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 30.73% and a net margin of 31.15%. The company had revenue of $64.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $7.25 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st were issued a dividend of $0.5250 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 21st. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.16%.

Top Meta Platforms Stories

These are some of the META stories that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: ETFs bought about $99.7 million of Meta shares on Nov. 10, a sign of institutional fund demand. ETFs Bought $99.7 Million of Meta Platforms
• 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

Meta Platforms Company 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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