Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stake Reduced by Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Flagship Harbor Advisors cut its Meta stake by 14.2% in the third quarter, selling 2,964 shares and retaining 17,956 shares valued at approximately $13.0 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.91% of Meta’s stock.
• Meta reported quarterly earnings of $7.40 per share, exceeding estimates of $6.54, while revenue rose 26.1% year over year to $64.6 billion. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $833.12.
• Meta paid a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, equivalent to an annualized $2.10 dividend and a 0.3% yield; COO Javier Olivan also sold 946 shares under a pre-arranged trading plan.

Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,956 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 2,964 shares during the quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $13,022,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of META. State Street Corp raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.0% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 92,033,963 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $51,841,811,000 after acquiring an additional 3,510,123 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 21,038,035 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $12,036,491,000 after purchasing an additional 2,673,494 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 12,836,063 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $7,230,426,000 after purchasing an additional 162,909 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 18.1% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 11,858,972 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $6,784,873,000 after purchasing an additional 1,815,017 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Meta Platforms by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,429,812 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,964,745,000 after purchasing an additional 404,948 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $640.00, for a total value of $605,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 5,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,225,600. This trade represents a 15.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 149,515 shares of company stock worth $102,183,520. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $614.99 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $670.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $632.26. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $779.82. The firm has a market cap of $1.57 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.28.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st were issued a dividend of $0.5250 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 21st. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on META. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $850.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. UBS Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $920.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Yorkville Ives initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $900.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $860.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $833.12.

More Meta Platforms News

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

Meta Platforms Company 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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