Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stock Acquired by Atlatl Advisers LLC

Key Points

• Atlatl Advisers LLC increased its Meta Platforms position by 670.6% in the third quarter, acquiring 3,038 additional shares for a total holding of 3,491 shares valued at approximately $2.53 million.
• Other institutional investors also initiated positions, and institutions collectively own 79.91% of Meta’s outstanding shares, indicating substantial institutional participation.
• Meta reported quarterly earnings and revenue above analyst expectations, while analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $833.12; however, the stock was trading down 1.2% at $612.49.

Atlatl Advisers LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 670.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,491 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,038 shares during the period. Atlatl Advisers LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,532,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of META. Horizons Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Philadelphia Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Schuylkill Financial LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta priced a $25 billion Class A common-stock offering and a $12.5 billion mandatory convertible preferred-stock offering, with proceeds earmarked for its artificial-intelligence infrastructure. The common offering reportedly attracted demand several times greater than the shares available, suggesting institutional interest in Meta’s AI strategy. Meta offering pricing
• Positive Sentiment: Nvidia plans to invest $3 billion in Meta and expand its partnership around Meta’s Muse AI assistant and models. The deal provides third-party validation for Meta’s AI ambitions and may help secure access to Nvidia hardware. Nvidia invests in Meta partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s core advertising business remains strong: ad impressions increased 10% year over year, average ad prices rose 14%, and AI improvements reportedly lifted app-ad conversions by 9.6%. Early adoption of Muse and new AI experiments such as Waddle World could create future commerce and subscription revenue. Meta AI risk and reward
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta delayed indefinitely the rollout of new commercial terms after publisher objections. The move could reduce near-term conflict but leaves unresolved questions about the company’s relationship with media organizations and use of publisher content. Meta delays commercial terms
• Negative Sentiment: The major concern is dilution: Meta is pursuing nearly $98 billion in equity financing, including new common and convertible preferred securities. Investors appear worried that the funding will reduce per-share value even if it finances long-term AI growth. Meta stock analysis and dilution
• Negative Sentiment: AI investment is weighing heavily on near-term financials. Capital expenditures reached $34.9 billion, producing negative free cash flow of $2.1 billion, while higher spending and legal costs pressured margins. This has led some analysts to downgrade the stock, despite revenue exceeding expectations. Meta AI spending downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Meta COO Javier Olivan sold shares worth approximately $1.0 million in two transactions. Both sales were executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, reducing their significance as a signal of management’s outlook. SEC insider transaction filing

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on META shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $750.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Roth Capital reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $750.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Wedbush increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $833.12.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.2%

Meta Platforms stock opened at $612.49 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $667.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $632.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.56 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.19. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The social networking company reported $7.40 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $64.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $7.25 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total value of $28,510,400.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 184,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $131,515,624.16. The trade was a 17.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal 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, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,196 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total transaction of $5,063,409.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,260,343.46. The trade was a 41.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 150,015 shares of company stock valued at $102,464,300. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

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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