Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stock Purchased by IFP Advisors Inc

Key Points

• IFP Advisors increased its Meta Platforms stake by 14.3% in the third quarter, adding 5,943 shares to hold 47,417 shares valued at approximately $34.4 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.91% of META.
• Meta insiders sold 148,331 shares worth about $101.2 million over the past three months, including significant sales by CTO Andrew Bosworth and CFO Susan Li under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans.
• META was trading at $694.25, with a market capitalization of roughly $1.77 trillion. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $811.24, while investors continue to weigh strong advertising and AI prospects against rising AI infrastructure costs and earnings-related volatility.

IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 14.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 47,417 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,943 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 0.6% of IFP Advisors Inc's portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. IFP Advisors Inc's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $34,386,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Corient Private Wealth LP raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 723.1% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 8,801,764 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $4,957,946,000 after purchasing an additional 7,732,446 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth about $2,948,486,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 3,510,123 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 14.6% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 21,038,035 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $12,036,491,000 after purchasing an additional 2,673,494 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 18.1% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 11,858,972 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $6,784,873,000 after purchasing an additional 1,815,017 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total transaction of $4,379,184.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $462,024. This represents a 90.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan Li sold 9,196 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total value of $5,063,409.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares in the company, 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 148,331 shares of company stock valued at $101,233,569. 13.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.6%

NASDAQ META opened at $694.25 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $779.82. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $659.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $628.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.77 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.19.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share 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 last year, the company earned $7.14 EPS. Meta Platforms's revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s Muse AI companion reportedly reached 10.9 million U.S. downloads in its first 40 days, putting it among the fastest-growing mobile applications. The adoption supports the view that Meta can use its massive user base to build new advertising, commerce and AI-assistant revenue streams. Muse download article
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect higher advertising revenue, stronger AI-driven engagement and increased monetization across Meta’s applications to support the upcoming quarter. Rosenblatt reaffirmed a buy rating and set an $886 price target, implying substantial upside from recent levels. Zacks earnings preview
• Positive Sentiment: Some investors argue Meta is well positioned for the next phase of AI because its social-app ecosystem and roughly 3.5 billion users could protect advertising and commerce revenue as AI assistants become more common. Meta versus Alphabet AI analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Global affairs chief Joel Kaplan will leave Meta next year after 15 years. The leadership change may alter Meta’s political and regulatory strategy, although the company has not indicated an immediate operational impact. Reuters report on Joel Kaplan
• Negative Sentiment: The central near-term risk is Meta’s AI spending. Investors want evidence that surging infrastructure investment and potential funding needs will produce durable revenue growth without materially weakening margins or shareholder value. Reuters earnings preview
• Negative Sentiment: Shares have declined from their recent high as traders reduce risk before earnings and focus on whether the results and guidance can justify Meta’s premium valuation. The options market is also anticipating a sizable post-earnings move. Investopedia earnings volatility report
• Negative Sentiment: Broader concerns about an AI-stock sell-off, expensive data-center buildouts and possible equity financing are adding pressure to large technology companies, including Meta.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on META. Weiss Ratings raised Meta Platforms from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $785.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $750.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, New Street Research lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $730.00 to $700.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $811.24.

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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