Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stock Sold by Louisbourg Investments Inc.

Key Points

• Louisbourg Investments reduced its Meta stake by 6.4% in the third quarter, selling 1,098 shares and retaining 16,126 shares valued at approximately $11.7 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 79.91% of Meta.
• Meta reported quarterly revenue of $64.6 billion, up 26% year over year, while earnings of $7.40 per share exceeded analysts’ $6.54 estimate. Analysts remain broadly bullish, with the stock carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $833.12.
• Company insiders sold roughly $102.3 million of Meta shares over the past 90 days, including sales by Christopher Cox and Mark Zuckerberg under pre-arranged trading plans. Meta also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, for a 0.3% yield.

Louisbourg Investments Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 6.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,126 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 1,098 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 2.0% of Louisbourg Investments Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Louisbourg Investments Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $11,694,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Corient Private Wealth LP grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 723.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 7,732,446 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,948,486,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 92,033,963 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $51,841,811,000 after acquiring an additional 3,510,123 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 14.6% in the 1st 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 lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 18.1% in the 1st 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 and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Christopher Cox sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of the firm's 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. 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. Insiders sold a total of 149,906 shares of company stock valued at $102,347,409 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $642.62 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $664.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $629.72. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $779.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The stock has a market cap of $1.64 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.19.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The social networking company reported $7.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.86. The business 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 business's revenue was up 26.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $7.25 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.86 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st were given a $0.5250 dividend. 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 7.91%.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Strong Q3 operating performance: Meta reported $64.6 billion in revenue, up 26% year over year, and adjusted earnings of $7.40 per share versus expectations of roughly $6.54. AI-driven recommendations and advertising tools are improving engagement, ad pricing and conversions. META Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Muse adoption supports the AI thesis: Meta’s Muse AI agent has surpassed 10 million downloads, strengthening the case that the company could eventually monetize AI through subscriptions, enterprise services and additional advertising. However, meaningful revenue contribution is expected later, potentially from 2027 onward. Meta Muse Adoption
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly constructive: UBS, Citigroup, Mizuho, JPMorgan, Bank of America and other firms raised or reaffirmed bullish ratings and price targets, citing resilient advertising growth and long-term AI potential. Some investors, including commentator Mike Khouw, view the selloff as a buying opportunity. Why Mike Khouw Is Buying Meta
• Neutral Sentiment: New Class C shares and a 2-for-1 split: Meta plans to issue one non-voting Class C share for each Class A and Class B share. The move should improve trading liquidity and give Mark Zuckerberg greater flexibility to sell shares or finance AI investment without surrendering voting control, but it does not by itself create economic value for shareholders. Meta’s New Non-Voting Shares
• Neutral Sentiment: Commercial terms delayed: Meta postponed controversial terms that publishers and advertisers said could authorize broader web scraping, moving implementation to November 20 from October 30. The delay may reduce near-term friction, though the underlying regulatory and customer concerns remain. Meta Delays Commercial Terms
• Negative Sentiment: AI spending is the main pressure: Meta lifted the lower end of its 2026 capital-expenditure forecast to $135 billion, with spending potentially reaching $145 billion. Free cash flow turned negative as infrastructure investment accelerated, while credit-default-swap costs reached records. Investors are questioning when Muse and other AI projects will generate returns. Meta AI Spending and Free Cash Flow
• Negative Sentiment: Legal and regulatory risks remain significant: Meta faces a $25 billion New Mexico privacy judgment, additional lawsuits alleging harm to children and scam advertising, and rising legal costs. The company plans to appeal the New Mexico ruling, but the liabilities add uncertainty and pressure margins. Meta New Mexico Privacy Judgment

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Loop Capital boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $740.00 to $955.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $885.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday. Erste Group Bank raised Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $1,000.00 to $995.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, 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 research note on Thursday, July 30th. Three 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $833.12.

Meta Platforms 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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