Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stake Raised by Bernardo Wealth Planning LLC

Key Points

• Bernardo Wealth Planning LLC more than doubled its Meta stake by 116% in the third quarter, ending with 4,182 shares valued at approximately $3.03 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.91% of Meta’s stock.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $833.12; recent targets ranged from $650 to $950.
• Meta reported strong quarterly results, including $7.40 in adjusted EPS and $64.60 billion in revenue, beating estimates and marking 26.1% year-over-year revenue growth. Shares opened at $614.99, while insiders have sold roughly $102.5 million of stock over the past 90 days.

Bernardo Wealth Planning LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 116.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,182 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 2,246 shares during the quarter. Bernardo Wealth Planning LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,033,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. MN Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. MN Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,179 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,580,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Brucke Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Brucke Financial Inc. now owns 7,822 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,672,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 194.1% during the 3rd quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI now owns 9,320 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $6,759,000 after acquiring an additional 6,151 shares during the last quarter. BG Investment Services LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 4,302.4% in the third quarter. BG Investment Services LLC now owns 24,081 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $17,463,000 after acquiring an additional 23,534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valen Private Capital LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth $427,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on META shares. Mizuho increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $820.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, October 19th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $886.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $800.00 price objective (down from $850.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $833.12.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $614.99 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $670.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $632.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.57 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $779.82.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released 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. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 31.15% and a return on equity of 30.73%. The company had revenue of $64.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $7.25 earnings per share. Meta Platforms's revenue was up 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st were paid 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 7.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Christopher Cox sold 40,000 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The shares were 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 directly owned 184,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $131,515,624.16. This trade represents a 17.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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, CFO Susan Li sold 9,196 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total value of $5,063,409.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,260,343.46. The trade was a 41.09% 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 150,015 shares of company stock valued at $102,464,300. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

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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