Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Curated Wealth Partners LLC

Key Points

• Curated Wealth Partners LLC cut its Meta position by 87.4% in the third quarter, selling 79,174 shares and retaining 11,369 shares worth approximately $8.25 million.
• Institutional investors own 79.91% of Meta, while analysts maintain a broadly positive outlook with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $808.88.
• Meta shares opened at $709.33 after a reported 3.7% decline; the company recently posted revenue growth but missed quarterly EPS estimates, while insiders sold roughly $102.2 million of stock over the past 90 days.

Curated Wealth Partners LLC lessened its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 87.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,369 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 79,174 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 0.7% of Curated Wealth Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Curated Wealth Partners LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $8,245,000 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 company. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its holdings 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 worth $69,502,379,000 after purchasing an additional 105,154,977 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 723.1% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 8,801,764 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $4,957,946,000 after buying an additional 7,732,446 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth about $2,948,486,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 488.1% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,466,595 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $3,608,445,000 after buying an additional 4,537,076 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 92,033,963 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $51,841,811,000 after purchasing an additional 3,510,123 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $860.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Weiss Ratings raised Meta Platforms from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $955.00 to $855.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $796.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $730.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $808.88.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan Li sold 9,196 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total transaction of $5,063,409.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at $7,260,343.46. This trade represents a 41.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 3,240 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 6,271 shares in the company, valued at $3,875,854.26. This represents a 34.07% 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. Insiders sold 149,797 shares of company stock valued at $102,180,385 in the last 90 days. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

Meta Platforms Stock Down 3.7%

META stock opened at $709.33 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $655.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $625.86. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $1.81 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.72, a PEG ratio of 1.27 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.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). The firm had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $7.14 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.15 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st were paid 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 payout ratio is presently 7.91%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.