Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Acquired by Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Lantern Wealth Advisors increased its Meta stake by 30.1% in the third quarter, purchasing 810 additional shares to hold 3,500 shares valued at approximately $2.54 million.
• Institutional investors own 79.91% of Meta’s shares, with major holders including State Street, Bank of America, UBS Asset Management, Amundi and Dimensional Fund Advisors increasing their positions.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $833.12. Meta recently exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $7.40 in EPS and $64.60 billion in revenue, though its shares opened at $624.52 and remain below their 52-week high.

Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 30.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,500 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 810 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up 1.1% of Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,538,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 4.0% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 92,033,963 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $51,841,811,000 after purchasing an additional 3,510,123 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 14.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 21,038,035 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $12,036,491,000 after buying an additional 2,673,494 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 12,836,063 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $7,230,426,000 after buying an additional 162,909 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 18.1% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 11,858,972 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $6,784,873,000 after buying an additional 1,815,017 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,429,812 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,964,745,000 after buying an additional 404,948 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citic Securities reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $718.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Roth Capital dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $750.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Moffett Nathanson dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $740.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $750.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and set a $945.00 price target (down from $995.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $833.12.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

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

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 30.73% and a net margin of 31.15%. The business had revenue of $64.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $63.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $7.25 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 26.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st were given 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.16%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $640.00, for a total transaction of $605,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 5,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,225,600. This represents a 15.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 150,015 shares of company stock valued at $102,464,300 in the last ninety days. 13.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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

Meta Platforms 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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