BG Investment Services LLC Buys 23,534 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• BG Investment Services increased its Meta Platforms stake by 4,302.4% in the third quarter, acquiring 23,534 additional shares and ending with 24,081 shares valued at approximately $17.5 million.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of Meta’s stock, with several funds also increasing their positions during the second quarter.
• Meta exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $7.40 in EPS and $64.6 billion in revenue, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $833.12.

BG Investment Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 4,302.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,081 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 23,534 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 2.6% of BG Investment Services LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. BG Investment Services LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $17,463,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd increased its position in Meta Platforms by 18.6% during the 2nd quarter. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd now owns 18,777 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $10,577,000 after purchasing an additional 2,939 shares in the last quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 33.6% in the second quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc now owns 3,031 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,707,000 after buying an additional 763 shares during the period. William John Sempolinski purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,107,000. Sone Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 38.2% during the second quarter. Sone Capital Management LLC now owns 16,059 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $9,046,000 after buying an additional 4,440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lakewood Capital Management LP lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 63.7% during the second quarter. Lakewood Capital Management LP now owns 115,985 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $65,333,000 after buying an additional 45,130 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 2.0%

NASDAQ META opened at $624.52 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $668.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $632.39. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $779.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market cap of $1.59 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.29, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.19.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The social networking company reported $7.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.86. The business had revenue of $64.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 firm earned $7.25 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st were issued a $0.5250 dividend. 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 payout ratio is currently 7.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 3,240 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $618.06, for a total transaction of $2,002,514.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,271 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,875,854.26. The trade was a 34.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 stock was 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 150,015 shares of company stock worth $102,464,300 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: AMD partnership strengthens AI infrastructure: Advanced Micro Devices plans to invest $1 billion in Meta’s stock while collaborating on multi-generation Instinct processors, CPUs and gigawatt-scale data-center deployments. The agreement could diversify Meta’s chip supply and improve computing efficiency. Advanced Micro Devices' Meta Platforms Partnership Goes Beyond a $1 Billion Investment
• Positive Sentiment: Advertising engine remains a key support: Recent analysis highlighted rising ad prices, stronger impressions and AI-driven improvements to ad conversions and Reels engagement. Analysts remain optimistic that Meta’s AI tools, including Muse, can support long-term revenue and earnings growth. Meta's Pullback Just Changed the AI Risk/Reward
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support and AI upside: Daiwa Securities raised its Meta price target to $779 from $687, while other commentary characterized the recent pullback as an attractive entry point and cited potential gains from AI-powered commerce and advertising. Daiwa Securities Adjusts Price Target on Meta Platforms to $779
• Neutral Sentiment: New consumer AI products broaden Meta’s options: Meta launched Style Sketch, an AI fashion app that creates outfit ideas from users’ clothing, following the launch of the AI pet app Waddle World. These experiments could increase engagement, but their revenue potential remains unproven. Meta quietly launches an AI fashion app called Style Sketch
• Negative Sentiment: AI financing raises dilution and cash-flow concerns: Meta’s roughly $95 billion capital-raising plan, including common and convertible preferred shares, provides funding for AI infrastructure but increases shareholder dilution. Quarterly capital expenditures also pushed free cash flow negative, potentially limiting buybacks and dividends. Meta Just Priced a Stock Sale at $625 a Share
• Negative Sentiment: Legal and regulatory pressure continues: Meta delayed new commercial terms for publishers after objections and faces a major U.S. trial over alleged social-media harms to young users. These matters could create additional costs and reputational risk. Meta delays indefinitely its rollout of new commercial terms
• Negative Sentiment: Muse execution remains uncertain: Meta removed an Instagram ad promoting Muse’s ability to identify unfollowers, underscoring product-positioning and user-trust risks as the company expands its AI services. Meta took down its ad touting Muse

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $750.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $580.00 to $685.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $885.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $700.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $833.12.

About Meta Platforms

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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