Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Bought by MBL Wealth LLC

Key Points

• MBL Wealth increased its Meta Platforms stake by 13.7% in the third quarter, purchasing 858 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 7,129 shares valued at approximately $5.17 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 79.91% of Meta.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive on Meta, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $833.12. Analysts cited in the report include 47 Buy, three Strong Buy and eight Hold ratings.
• Meta reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting $7.40 in EPS and $64.60 billion in revenue, with revenue up 26.1% year over year. However, the company faces concerns over substantial AI-related spending, potential shareholder dilution and insider selling by COO Javier Olivan.

MBL Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 13.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,129 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 858 shares during the quarter. MBL Wealth LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $5,170,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.0% during 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 buying an additional 3,510,123 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.6% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 21,038,035 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $12,036,491,000 after buying an additional 2,673,494 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 162,909 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 18.1% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 11,858,972 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $6,784,873,000 after acquiring an additional 1,815,017 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 404,948 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $885.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Tigress Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $945.00 target price (down from $995.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $1,000.00 to $995.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Yorkville Ives began coverage on Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $900.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $833.12.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $612.49 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $1.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.19. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month high of $779.82. The company's fifty day moving average is $667.08 and its 200 day moving average is $632.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The social networking company reported $7.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $63.34 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $7.25 EPS. Meta Platforms's revenue for the quarter was up 26.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.98 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $640.00, for a total transaction of $605,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 5,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,225,600. This trade represents a 15.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 quarter. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta priced a $25 billion Class A common-stock offering and a $12.5 billion mandatory convertible preferred-stock offering, with proceeds earmarked for its artificial-intelligence infrastructure. The common offering reportedly attracted demand several times greater than the shares available, suggesting institutional interest in Meta’s AI strategy. Meta offering pricing
• Positive Sentiment: Nvidia plans to invest $3 billion in Meta and expand its partnership around Meta’s Muse AI assistant and models. The deal provides third-party validation for Meta’s AI ambitions and may help secure access to Nvidia hardware. Nvidia invests in Meta partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s core advertising business remains strong: ad impressions increased 10% year over year, average ad prices rose 14%, and AI improvements reportedly lifted app-ad conversions by 9.6%. Early adoption of Muse and new AI experiments such as Waddle World could create future commerce and subscription revenue. Meta AI risk and reward
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta delayed indefinitely the rollout of new commercial terms after publisher objections. The move could reduce near-term conflict but leaves unresolved questions about the company’s relationship with media organizations and use of publisher content. Meta delays commercial terms
• Negative Sentiment: The major concern is dilution: Meta is pursuing nearly $98 billion in equity financing, including new common and convertible preferred securities. Investors appear worried that the funding will reduce per-share value even if it finances long-term AI growth. Meta stock analysis and dilution
• Negative Sentiment: AI investment is weighing heavily on near-term financials. Capital expenditures reached $34.9 billion, producing negative free cash flow of $2.1 billion, while higher spending and legal costs pressured margins. This has led some analysts to downgrade the stock, despite revenue exceeding expectations. Meta AI spending downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Meta COO Javier Olivan sold shares worth approximately $1.0 million in two transactions. Both sales were executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, reducing their significance as a signal of management’s outlook. SEC insider transaction filing

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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