Grove Bank & Trust Cuts Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Grove Bank & Trust reduced its Meta Platforms stake by 7.2% in the third quarter, selling 803 shares and retaining 10,308 shares valued at approximately $7.5 million.
• Institutional investors own nearly 79.9% of Meta’s outstanding stock, while insiders have sold $101 million worth of shares over the past 90 days, including sales by Mark Zuckerberg and Christopher Cox under 10b5-1 plans.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with Meta holding a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $791.86, though concerns remain over heavy AI infrastructure spending, regulatory risks, and potential limitations on its Muse AI agent.

Grove Bank & Trust lessened its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 7.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,308 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 803 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $7,475,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of META. Watchman Group Inc. increased its stake 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 valued at $2,913,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Penney Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. CWS Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 16 shares during the period. Finally, Tenzing Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the second quarter. Tenzing Financial LLC now owns 1,210 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $726,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s growing role in the micro-drama market could create a new advertising revenue stream. Short-form serialized shows are expanding beyond China, and the platform is becoming an important distribution channel for this content. Why Meta is winning the micro drama wars
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo reportedly set a $1,000 price target, citing AI as a potential catalyst, while TD Cowen reaffirmed its “buy” rating with an $865 target. These targets imply analysts see substantial upside if Meta converts AI investment into higher engagement, advertising and commerce revenue. Meta Could Hit $1,000, Says Wells Fargo
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s Muse assistant continues to expand, including a new iPad app, and the company is working with Sierra, Shopify, Stripe and Walmart on standards for AI agents to interact with businesses. Successful agentic commerce could eventually provide Meta with transaction-based revenue. Meta's Muse launches on iPad
• Neutral Sentiment: President Donald Trump disclosed purchases of as much as $25 million in Meta stock, a headline that may support investor sentiment but does not change the company’s fundamentals. Trump bought up to $25 million in Meta
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies found that roughly one-third of tested websites blocked Meta’s Muse agent. Access limitations could delay Meta’s plans to earn transaction fees from AI-powered shopping and other agentic-commerce services. Meta's Muse AI agent blocked by websites
• Negative Sentiment: Florida is pursuing restrictions on Meta’s platforms, including a possible ban for users under 14 and limits on infinite scrolling for teenagers. Such rules could reduce engagement, advertising inventory and the effectiveness of Meta’s core products while increasing legal costs. Meta Stock Falls as Florida challenges infinite scroll
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that Meta’s substantial AI data-center spending is consuming cash before returns are clear. Commentary also highlights criticism of CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s AI strategy and the risk that AI infrastructure becomes a prolonged cash-flow drag. Why AI Infrastructure Is Turning Meta and Amazon Into Cash-Flow Sinks

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Citic Securities dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $718.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $730.00 to $830.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. President Capital upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $660.00 to $897.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $720.00 to $580.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $791.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total transaction of $21,359,386.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Christopher Cox sold 40,000 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the insider owned 184,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $131,515,624.16. This represents a 17.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 148,222 shares of company stock worth $101,033,627 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $720.89 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.84 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $637.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $619.40. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $779.82.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.The business had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $60.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $7.14 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

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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