Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stock: Sax Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings

Key Points

• Sax Wealth Advisors increased its Meta stake by 279.7% in the third quarter, purchasing 23,172 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 31,457 shares valued at approximately $22.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.91% of Meta’s stock.
• Meta shares recently traded at $763.26, near their 12-month high of $779.82, while analysts maintained a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $796.51.
• Meta reported quarterly revenue of $60.8 billion, up 28% year over year, but earnings per share of $6.18 missed analyst expectations. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, equivalent to a 0.3% yield.

Sax Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 279.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,457 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 23,172 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 0.6% of Sax Wealth Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $22,812,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Watchman Group Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.3% in the first quarter. Watchman Group Inc. now owns 5,091 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $2,913,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Penney Financial LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Penney Financial LLC now owns 399 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.0% during the first quarter. Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $869,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 1,206 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $874,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, CWS Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the first quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC now owns 985 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $564,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META stock traded up $20.30 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $763.26. The stock had a trading volume of 14,905,136 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,474,457. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $644.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $621.26. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.94 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.72, a PEG ratio of 1.25 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 data 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 analysts' expectations of $60.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $7.14 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.94 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $800.00 price objective (down from $850.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $920.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Loop Capital increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $740.00 to $955.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $650.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $796.51.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta introduced Muse Wonder and Muse Wonder Full, describing them as its most advanced models and competitive with leading systems from OpenAI and Anthropic. The models are intended to improve Meta’s AI assistant and support complex, multi-step tasks. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Independent app-intelligence data reportedly showed Muse achieving early user-retention rates comparable to ChatGPT, helping drive investor confidence that Meta’s AI investments can translate into sustained usage and potential revenue. Yahoo Finance article
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street remained constructive: KeyCorp reaffirmed an overweight rating with a $900 target, while Rosenblatt maintained a buy rating with an $886 target. Truist also said the shares may have further upside following the Muse-related advance. Barron's article
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s partnership with Virtuix is expanding, with new Meta Quest and Omni One bundles and more than 75 compatible games. Virtuix said Omni One orders have tripled year over year, supporting demand for Meta’s Quest ecosystem. Quiver Quantitative article
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta will report third-quarter 2026 results after the market close on October 21, giving investors a near-term catalyst for judging AI spending, advertising growth and profitability. Meta earnings announcement
• Negative Sentiment: The AI strategy carries substantial execution and financial risk. Meta reportedly considered spending as much as $200 billion before knowing whether its models would succeed, while data-center construction and other AI investments could pressure margins. Muse downloads have also slowed, and premium access requires $20- or $100-per-month subscriptions. Business Insider article
• Negative Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald trimmed its price target to $840 from $860, signaling that valuation and the scale of required AI investment remain concerns despite retaining an overweight rating. Benzinga article

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total transaction of $4,379,184.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 828 shares of the company's stock, valued at $462,024. The trade was a 90.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total value of $21,359,386.56. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 148,222 shares of company stock valued at $101,033,627. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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 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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