Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stock: Affinity Capital Advisors LLC Increases Holdings

Key Points

• Affinity Capital Advisors increased its Meta stake by 13.2% in the third quarter to 8,014 shares valued at approximately $5.76 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.91% of Meta’s outstanding stock.
• Meta insiders sold 148,222 shares worth about $101.0 million during the latest quarter, including sizable sales by Christopher Cox and CTO Andrew Bosworth under pre-arranged trading plans.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and $796.51 price target, though investors are monitoring Meta’s high valuation and significant AI spending ahead of its next earnings report.

Affinity Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 13.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,014 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 934 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 0.7% of Affinity Capital Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $5,759,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 105,292,277 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $69,502,379,000 after buying an additional 105,154,977 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 723.1% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 8,801,764 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $4,957,946,000 after buying an additional 7,732,446 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth approximately $2,948,486,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 488.1% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,466,595 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $3,608,445,000 after buying an additional 4,537,076 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.0% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 92,033,963 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $51,841,811,000 after acquiring an additional 3,510,123 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Christopher Cox sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total value of $28,510,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 184,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $131,515,624.16. This represents a 17.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total value of $4,379,184.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 828 shares in the company, valued at $462,024. The trade was a 90.46% decrease in their position. 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 148,222 shares of company stock valued at $101,033,627. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta introduced Muse Wonder and Muse Wonder Full, frontier AI models designed for complex, multi-step personal and professional tasks. The launch supports the view that Meta is catching up with OpenAI and Anthropic while creating potential subscription and advertising opportunities. Meta Platforms Introduces AI Tools to Fine-Tune Facebook Algorithms
• Positive Sentiment: Third-party app data reportedly showed strong early retention for Meta’s standalone Muse assistant, helping ease concerns about slowing downloads and reinforcing expectations that the company’s AI investments can improve engagement and monetization. Why Meta Stock Is Up Today
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street support strengthened, with Truist assigning a $1,000 price target and KeyCorp and Rosenblatt reaffirming bullish ratings with targets of $900 and $886, respectively. Analysts cited Muse adoption and AI-driven advertising improvements as catalysts. Social Media Stocks Rally as Truist Sets $1,000 Meta Target
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s partnership with Virtuix expanded, with Omni One orders reportedly tripling year over year after becoming available for Meta Quest. The development provides modest support for demand across Meta’s virtual-reality ecosystem. Virtuix Deepens Meta Partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: Facebook is giving users more control over feed-ranking algorithms. The move may improve user trust and engagement, although greater personalization controls could affect content distribution and ad performance. Facebook Gives Users More Algorithm Control
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain cautious about Meta’s premium valuation and substantial AI spending, with planned capital expenditures reportedly reaching $130 billion to $145 billion. Third-quarter results, scheduled for October 21, will be important for validating AI monetization and revenue guidance. Meta Q3 Preview

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $750.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Citizens Jmp boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $885.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $865.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Bank of America reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $810.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, President Capital raised shares of Meta Platforms from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $660.00 to $897.00 in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $796.51.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $762.50 on Wednesday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $647.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $622.44. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $1.94 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 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 issued its quarterly 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). Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%. The business had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $7.14 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

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 operates a global family of apps that includes Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads, enabling users to connect, communicate, share content and discover communities.

Meta generates most of its business through digital advertising displayed across its platforms. Its products serve individuals, creators, businesses and organizations in markets around the world, while its advertising tools help businesses reach audiences based on factors such as interests, activity and demographics.

Through its Reality Labs division, Meta develops virtual and augmented reality hardware, software and services, including the Meta Quest line of headsets and related experiences.

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