Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Bought by OLD Second National Bank of Aurora

Key Points

• OLD Second National Bank of Aurora increased its Meta Platforms position by 1,621.7% in the third quarter, adding 2,465 shares to hold 2,617 shares valued at approximately $1.9 million.
• Institutional investors collectively own 79.91% of Meta’s stock, with major holders including State Street, Bank of America, UBS, Amundi and Dimensional Fund Advisors increasing their positions.
• Meta exceeded quarterly expectations with adjusted earnings of $7.40 per share and revenue of $64.6 billion, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $833.12.

OLD Second National Bank of Aurora raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 1,621.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,617 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,465 shares during the period. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,898,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in META. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 92,033,963 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $51,841,811,000 after purchasing an additional 3,510,123 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 14.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 2,673,494 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the second 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 worth $7,230,426,000 after purchasing an additional 162,909 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 18.1% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 11,858,972 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $6,784,873,000 after purchasing an additional 1,815,017 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Meta Platforms by 4.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,429,812 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,964,745,000 after buying an additional 404,948 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.2%

Meta Platforms stock opened at $612.49 on Thursday. The firm 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week high of $779.82. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $667.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $632.53.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The social networking company reported $7.40 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $64.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.34 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $7.25 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 26.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is 7.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of several recent research reports. Arete Research raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $735.00 to $806.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Loop Capital upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $740.00 to $955.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Yorkville Ives assumed coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $900.00 price objective on the stock. CICC Research cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $773.00 to $700.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Phillip Securities upgraded Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $795.00 to $750.00 in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $833.12.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider owned 184,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $131,515,624.16. The trade was a 17.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total transaction of $4,379,184.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 828 shares in the company, valued at $462,024. This trade represents a 90.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 150,015 shares of company stock valued at $102,464,300. 13.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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