Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.

Key Points

• Oppenheimer & Co. reduced its Meta stake by 7% in the third quarter, selling 13,308 shares and retaining 177,387 shares valued at approximately $128.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.91% of Meta’s stock.
• Meta reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $7.40 versus the $6.54 consensus and revenue of $64.6 billion, up 26.1% year over year. Analysts maintain a broadly bullish outlook, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $833.12.
• Insiders sold 149,515 shares worth approximately $102.2 million over the past 90 days, while Meta continues to benefit from strong advertising trends and expanded AI infrastructure cooperation with AMD, including a $1 billion investment.

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 177,387 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 13,308 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 1.4% of Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $128,638,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of META. Center for Financial Planning Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 16.7% in the third quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 1,467 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,064,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Tiller Private Wealth Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Tiller Private Wealth Inc. now owns 1,073 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $778,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 26,900 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $19,507,000 after buying an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 28,063 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $20,351,000 after acquiring an additional 4,330 shares during the period. Finally, National Wealth Management Group LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. National Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 3,161 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $2,292,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta settled a teen lawsuit alleging that Instagram and Facebook contributed to addiction, depression and eating disorders. Financial terms were not disclosed, but the agreement removes Meta from an upcoming Los Angeles trial and reduces near-term litigation uncertainty. Reuters settlement report
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s advertising fundamentals remain strong: recent coverage cited higher ad pricing, rising impressions, improved AI-driven ad conversions and strong engagement. Analysts also see meaningful upside, with one fair-value estimate raised from $813.65 to $848.38 per share. Meta fair value report
• Positive Sentiment: Meta expanded its relationship with Advanced Micro Devices, including a $1 billion equity investment and multi-generation chip co-design for Meta’s AI data centers. The deal may improve access to computing capacity and supplier diversification. AMD and Meta partnership report

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total value of $4,379,184.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $462,024. The trade was a 90.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Christopher Cox sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total transaction of $28,510,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 184,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $131,515,624.16. This trade represents a 17.82% 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 149,515 shares of company stock valued at $102,183,520. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on META. 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 research report on Friday, September 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $800.00 target price (down from $850.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Tigress Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and set a $945.00 target price (down from $995.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $820.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $763.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $833.12.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $614.99 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market cap of $1.57 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.28. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $670.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $632.26. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $779.82.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The social networking company reported $7.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.86. The business had revenue of $64.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 31.15% and a return on equity of 30.73%. The business's revenue was up 26.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $7.25 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 was Monday, September 21st. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.16%.

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'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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