Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Ellsworth Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Ellsworth Advisors cut its Meta stake by 72.7% in the third quarter, selling 11,013 shares and retaining 4,134 shares valued at approximately $3.0 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.91% of Meta’s stock.
• Meta insiders also reported significant sales, including CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s $21.4 million sale and COO Javier Olivan’s sale under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans; insiders sold about $102.2 million of shares during the quarter.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $808.88, but investors are monitoring Meta’s upcoming earnings, heavy AI infrastructure spending, regulatory risks, and recent analyst downgrades.

Ellsworth Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 72.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,134 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 11,013 shares during the quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,998,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Horizons Wealth Management purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Philadelphia Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Schuylkill Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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: 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 Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total transaction of $21,359,386.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $728.10, for a total transaction of $688,782.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 6,932 shares in the company, valued at $5,047,189.20. The trade was a 12.01% 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 149,797 shares of company stock worth $102,180,385. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META stock opened at $709.33 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $655.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $625.86. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $779.82. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $1.81 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.19.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 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 predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.81 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 presently 7.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on META shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $900.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $860.00 to $840.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $770.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Pivotal Research upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $930.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $808.88.

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'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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