Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Purchased by TB Alternative Assets Ltd.

Key Points

• TB Alternative Assets increased its Meta position by 2.3% in the third quarter, bringing its holdings to 104,435 shares valued at $75.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.91% of Meta’s stock.
• Meta reported quarterly revenue of $60.8 billion, up 28% year over year and above estimates, but earnings of $6.18 per share fell short of the $7.19 consensus. The company also pays a $0.525 quarterly dividend, yielding approximately 0.3%.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an $808.88 price target, though concerns include insider selling and potentially heavy AI infrastructure spending that could pressure free cash flow.

TB Alternative Assets Ltd. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 2.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 104,435 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 2,395 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 15.7% of TB Alternative Assets Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. TB Alternative Assets Ltd.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $75,734,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Horizons Wealth Management bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Philadelphia Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Schuylkill Financial LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth about $36,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $709.33 on Monday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $779.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.81 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $655.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $626.49. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). The firm had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. Meta Platforms's quarterly revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $7.14 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend was Monday, September 21st. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on META. Daiwa Securities Group decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $687.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Citizens Jmp increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $885.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $820.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. Scotiabank restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $600.00 target price (down from $700.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $700.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $808.88.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America expects Meta to exceed third-quarter revenue expectations, forecasting $63.8 billion versus a $63.3 billion consensus estimate, and maintained a Buy rating with an $810 price target. Meta expected to beat revenue forecasts as AI boosts advertising, says Bank of America
• Positive Sentiment: Meta released the open-weight Muse Spark model for coding and AI-agent tasks, while its collaboration with Apple enables developers to run the model locally on high-end Mac computers. The developments could broaden adoption of Meta’s AI technology and reduce reliance on cloud infrastructure. Meta releases open-weight Muse Spark model
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan reaffirmed its Overweight rating and set a $920 price target, implying substantial upside, while other analysts including KeyCorp and Rosenblatt also maintained positive ratings. JPMorgan reaffirms Meta rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is expected to report third-quarter results on October 21. Investors will focus on advertising growth, user metrics, profitability, capital expenditures, and management’s outlook for AI infrastructure spending. Meta Q3 earnings estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta withdrew $25 million from a previously announced $65 million effort to support political candidates considered favorable to the AI industry. The move may reduce near-term spending but signals a change in its political strategy. Meta Withdraws $25 Million from Its Midterms Push
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst-related pressure is weighing on the stock after Goldman Sachs lowered its expectations and Meta was reported down following an analyst downgrade, countering the more bullish JPMorgan view. Meta stock price down on analyst downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that AI infrastructure spending could reach approximately $205 billion in 2027. Heavy capital expenditures are reducing free cash flow, while potential legal charges and regulatory scrutiny add to earnings risk. Meta AI spending could hit $205 billion
• Negative Sentiment: Seven U.S. senators are questioning Meta’s claim of $6.6 billion in research tax credits for AI data centers, creating potential tax liability and reputational risk. Senators question Meta AI data-center tax credits

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total value of $28,510,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 184,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at $131,515,624.16. The trade was a 17.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 3,240 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $618.06, for a total value of $2,002,514.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 6,271 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,875,854.26. This trade represents a 34.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 148,331 shares of company stock valued at $101,233,569 in the last ninety days. 13.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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'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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