Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Corient Private Wealth LP

Key Points

• Corient Private Wealth LP cut its Meta Platforms position by 18.6% in the second quarter, selling 198,737 shares and retaining 870,581 shares valued at approximately $490.4 million.
• Institutional investors own about 79.91% of Meta’s stock, while company insiders have sold 150,807 shares worth roughly $102.2 million over the past three months, including sales by CEO Mark Zuckerberg and COO Javier Olivan under pre-arranged trading plans.
• Meta shares opened at $715.62, with analysts maintaining a broadly positive outlook: the stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $787.86, though elevated AI capital spending and competitive, privacy and regulatory risks remain concerns.

Corient Private Wealth LP reduced its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 18.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 870,581 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 198,737 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 0.7% of Corient Private Wealth LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Corient Private Wealth LP's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $490,391,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its position in Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 105,292,277 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $69,502,379,000 after buying an additional 105,154,977 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 52,806,712 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $34,734,628,000 after purchasing an additional 878,396 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $22,152,075,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake 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 valued at $12,036,491,000 after purchasing an additional 2,673,494 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,200,469 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $12,013,948,000 after buying an additional 1,046,715 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched the Meta Enterprise Platform, offering businesses and developers access to its Muse AI agent, Business Agent, Muse API and Muse Code. The company hired MongoDB CEO Chirantan “CJ” Desai to lead the initiative, signaling an effort to generate revenue from its multibillion-dollar AI investments beyond advertising. Meta launches enterprise AI platform
• Positive Sentiment: Muse’s integration across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp is supporting rapid user adoption; the AI-powered app reportedly reached the top spot in the U.S. App Store. Analysts also see potential revenue from subscriptions, transaction fees, enterprise tools and commercial API licensing. Meta Platforms boosts ad engagement with AI
• Positive Sentiment: Monness Crespi & Hardt raised its price target on META to $830 from $730 and maintained a Buy rating, citing the company’s AI opportunity and expanding ecosystem. AI improvements are also reportedly increasing ad engagement, clicks and conversions. Meta Platforms price target raised
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors remain divided over Meta’s AI strategy. Bullish analysts expect new AI agents, smart glasses and enterprise software to create additional revenue streams, while others question whether the returns will justify the investment.
• Negative Sentiment: Capital expenditures rose sharply to $31.1 billion in the second quarter from $19.4 billion a year earlier. The scale of data-center and AI spending is raising concerns about returns on capital and near-term margins. Meta Platforms: Are You Going to Buy the Promise?
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that OpenAI is developing a competing AI assistant intensified competitive concerns. Separately, alleged Muse disclosures of private messages and a user’s address have triggered privacy and safety criticism, potentially creating regulatory and reputational risks. Elon Musk amplifies privacy concerns over Muse
• Negative Sentiment: Meta also faces legal and political overhang after a New Mexico jury found that Facebook misled residents about personal-data practices, while lawmakers are questioning AI and data-center tax subsidies. Recent gains have additionally left the valuation less compelling, increasing sensitivity to execution disappointments.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total transaction of $21,359,386.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $680.27, for a total value of $643,535.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 9,770 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,646,237.90. The trade was a 8.83% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 150,807 shares of company stock worth $102,155,232 in the last three months. Insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $715.62 on Tuesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month high of $779.82. The stock has a market cap of $1.82 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.95, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.25. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $616.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $613.27. 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 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 company had revenue of $60.80 billion for 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 was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $7.14 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Stockholders 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 of this dividend was Monday, September 21st. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is presently 7.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on META shares. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $930.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. China Renaissance lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $700.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $763.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $945.00 target price (down from $995.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $787.86.

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 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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