Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stock Sold by Grant Private Wealth Management Inc

Key Points

• Grant Private Wealth Management cut its Meta position by 23.9% in the third quarter, selling 6,253 shares and retaining 19,912 shares worth approximately $14.44 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.91% of Meta’s stock.
• Meta insiders sold 148,331 shares valued at roughly $101.2 million over the past three months, including sales by COO Javier Olivan and Christopher K. Cox under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and average price target of $811.24, but investors remain focused on whether heavy AI infrastructure spending will generate durable revenue growth without pressuring margins.

Grant Private Wealth Management Inc lowered its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 23.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,912 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 6,253 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 6.2% of Grant Private Wealth Management Inc's holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Grant Private Wealth Management Inc's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $14,440,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of META. Horizons Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Advantage Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Philadelphia Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Schuylkill Financial LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $728.10, for a total value of $688,782.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 6,932 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,047,189.20. The trade was a 12.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 40,000 shares of the business'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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 184,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at $131,515,624.16. This trade represents a 17.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 148,331 shares of company stock valued at $101,233,569 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on META shares. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $780.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Tigress Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $945.00 price target (down from $995.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. New Street Research decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $730.00 to $700.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 31st. Scotiabank reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $600.00 price objective (down from $700.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Arete Research raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $735.00 to $806.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $811.24.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $694.25 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month high of $779.82. The stock has a market cap of $1.77 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.15, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.19. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $659.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $628.23. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 company had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $7.14 EPS. Meta Platforms's quarterly revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st were issued a dividend of $0.5250 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 21st. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.91%.

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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