Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stock: Founders Financial Securities LLC Raises Position

Key Points

• Founders Financial Securities increased its Meta stake by 7.9% in the third quarter, adding 887 shares to bring its holdings to 12,161 shares, valued at $8.82 million. Institutional investors collectively own about 79.9% of Meta’s stock.
• Meta reported quarterly earnings of $7.40 per share, beating the $6.54 consensus estimate, while revenue of $64.6 billion exceeded expectations and rose 26.1% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating, with an average target price of $833.12; recent targets include Truist’s $1,000 and Rosenblatt’s $886.

Founders Financial Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 7.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,161 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 887 shares during the quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $8,819,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of META. State Street Corp grew its stake 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 worth $51,841,811,000 after acquiring an additional 3,510,123 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.6% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 21,038,035 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $12,036,491,000 after purchasing an additional 2,673,494 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% during 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 valued at $7,230,426,000 after purchasing an additional 162,909 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in 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 lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 4.0% during the first 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. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $630.00 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $673.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $632.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.61 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $779.82. 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 (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 30.73% and a net margin of 31.15%. The company had revenue of $64.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $63.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $7.25 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 26.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $820.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, October 19th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $886.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $865.00 to $850.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $763.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $850.00 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 assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $833.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $614.15, for a total transaction of $580,985.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 4,094 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,514,330.10. This represents a 18.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 151,090 shares of company stock valued at $103,150,807. 13.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta acquired Conductor, a startup whose AI agents can work in parallel to build software projects. The deal adds AI coding capabilities, though financial terms were not disclosed. TechCrunch: Meta acquires AI coding startup Conductor
• Positive Sentiment: Investor demand for Meta’s bond offerings was strong: reports said orders for its U.S. sale reached about $58 billion. That suggests investors are willing to finance the company’s AI expansion. Reuters: Meta draws record orders for debut euro bond sale
• Positive Sentiment: Arista Networks said Meta remains one of its customers accounting for more than 10% of revenue, highlighting Meta’s role in demand for AI data-center infrastructure. Arista Networks Cashes In on the AI Infrastructure Build
• Neutral Sentiment: COO Javier Olivan reported stock sales under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The planned nature of the transactions makes them less informative as a signal about management’s near-term outlook. SEC insider ownership filing
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is raising billions through U.S. and euro bond sales to fund AI infrastructure and expansion. One report said the company agreed to pay 7.5% on 30-year debt, pointing to a substantial financing cost as investment spending grows. Meta Just Paid 7.5% to Borrow for 30 Years

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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