Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stock: B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC Lowers Stake

Key Points

• B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors reduced its Meta stake by 41.1% in the third quarter, while several other institutional investors increased their holdings. Institutional investors collectively own 79.91% of Meta’s stock.
• Meta reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $7.40 versus $6.54 expected and revenue of $64.60 billion, up 26.1% year over year. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $833.12.
• Meta’s stock opened at $614.99, below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, while the company continued shareholder distributions with a $0.525 quarterly dividend. Insiders also sold approximately $102.5 million of stock over the past 90 days under pre-arranged trading plans.

B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 41.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,994 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 1,393 shares during the quarter. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,446,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 27.8% in the third quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 2,543 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,844,000 after buying an additional 553 shares during the period. Westover Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 7.6% during the third quarter. Westover Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,640 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $6,991,000 after acquiring an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. E6 Portfolios LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth $200,000. Peterson Wealth Services raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.3% during the third quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 7,965 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,776,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the period. Finally, Motive Wealth Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.3% during the third quarter. Motive Wealth Advisors now owns 2,533 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,837,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.5%

Meta Platforms stock opened at $614.99 on Friday. 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 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $779.82. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $670.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $632.26. The company has a market cap of $1.57 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.19.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors 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 was Monday, September 21st. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.16%.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total transaction of $28,510,400.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 184,516 shares in the company, valued at $131,515,624.16. This represents a 17.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,196 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 sold 150,015 shares of company stock valued at $102,464,300. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $850.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $750.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Arete Research boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $735.00 to $806.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $1,000.00 to $995.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $833.12.

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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