Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stake Trimmed by AdvisorNet Financial Inc

Key Points

• AdvisorNet Financial cut its Meta stake by 12.9% in the third quarter, selling 1,897 shares and retaining 12,812 shares valued at approximately $9.45 million.
• Other institutional investors increased their holdings, and institutions collectively own nearly 79.9% of Meta’s outstanding stock, indicating strong institutional participation.
• Meta faces mixed investor signals ahead of its October 21 earnings report: analysts remain broadly bullish, but concerns persist over heavy AI infrastructure spending, regulatory risks, and recent analyst downgrades.

AdvisorNet Financial Inc lessened its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 12.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,812 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 1,897 shares during the quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $9,449,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of META. Weaver Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 95.3% in the 3rd quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 16,313 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $11,830,000 after purchasing an additional 7,960 shares during the last quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 30.3% in the 3rd quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. now owns 1,044 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $757,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Financial Harvest LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 17.5% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Harvest LLC now owns 1,015 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $736,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Brindle & Bay Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 107.4% during the 3rd quarter. Brindle & Bay Financial Advisors LLC now owns 788 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $572,000 after acquiring an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elevated Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Elevated Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,816 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $2,042,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $709.33 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.81 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.72, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month high of $779.82. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $655.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $625.86.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 company 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $7.14 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.81 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st were paid a $0.5250 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 21st. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.91%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 3,240 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $618.06, for a total value of $2,002,514.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,271 shares in the company, valued at $3,875,854.26. This represents a 34.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 40,000 shares of the 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 sale, the insider directly owned 184,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at $131,515,624.16. This represents a 17.82% 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. Insiders sold 149,797 shares of company stock valued at $102,180,385 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on META shares. Mizuho set a $750.00 price objective on Meta Platforms and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Daiwa Securities Group dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $687.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Loop Capital lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $740.00 to $955.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Scotiabank restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $600.00 price target (down from $700.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Three 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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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