Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by 4WEALTH Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• 4WEALTH Advisors cut its Meta position by 42.6% in the third quarter, selling 1,109 shares and retaining 1,494 shares valued at approximately $1.10 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 79.91%, while several hedge funds—including Lakewood Capital and Sone Capital—expanded their Meta holdings during the second quarter.
• Meta insiders sold 148,222 shares worth about $101 million over the past 90 days. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with an average price target of $796.51, while the company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share.

4WEALTH Advisors Inc. lowered its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 42.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,494 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 1,109 shares during the quarter. 4WEALTH Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,104,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd increased its position in Meta Platforms by 18.6% in the second quarter. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd now owns 18,777 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $10,577,000 after buying an additional 2,939 shares during the period. Madison Wealth Partners Inc lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 33.6% in the second quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc now owns 3,031 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,707,000 after buying an additional 763 shares during the last quarter. William John Sempolinski bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at $3,107,000. Sone Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 38.2% in the second quarter. Sone Capital Management LLC now owns 16,059 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $9,046,000 after buying an additional 4,440 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lakewood Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 63.7% during the second quarter. Lakewood Capital Management LP now owns 115,985 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $65,333,000 after acquiring an additional 45,130 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 3,240 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $618.06, for a total transaction of $2,002,514.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,271 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,875,854.26. The trade was a 34.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly 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 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 90 days, insiders sold 148,222 shares of company stock valued at $101,033,627. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $762.50 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $779.82. The firm has a market cap of $1.94 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.72, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $647.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $622.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st were issued a $0.5250 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 21st. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Scotiabank restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $600.00 target price (down from $700.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $800.00 price target (down from $850.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Evercore lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $860.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, President Capital upgraded Meta Platforms from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $660.00 to $897.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $796.51.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta introduced Muse Wonder and Muse Wonder Full, frontier AI models designed for complex, multi-step personal and professional tasks. The launch supports the view that Meta is catching up with OpenAI and Anthropic while creating potential subscription and advertising opportunities. Meta Platforms Introduces AI Tools to Fine-Tune Facebook Algorithms
• Positive Sentiment: Third-party app data reportedly showed strong early retention for Meta’s standalone Muse assistant, helping ease concerns about slowing downloads and reinforcing expectations that the company’s AI investments can improve engagement and monetization. Why Meta Stock Is Up Today
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street support strengthened, with Truist assigning a $1,000 price target and KeyCorp and Rosenblatt reaffirming bullish ratings with targets of $900 and $886, respectively. Analysts cited Muse adoption and AI-driven advertising improvements as catalysts. Social Media Stocks Rally as Truist Sets $1,000 Meta Target
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s partnership with Virtuix expanded, with Omni One orders reportedly tripling year over year after becoming available for Meta Quest. The development provides modest support for demand across Meta’s virtual-reality ecosystem. Virtuix Deepens Meta Partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: Facebook is giving users more control over feed-ranking algorithms. The move may improve user trust and engagement, although greater personalization controls could affect content distribution and ad performance. Facebook Gives Users More Algorithm Control
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain cautious about Meta’s premium valuation and substantial AI spending, with planned capital expenditures reportedly reaching $130 billion to $145 billion. Third-quarter results, scheduled for October 21, will be important for validating AI monetization and revenue guidance. Meta Q3 Preview

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 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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