Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stock Sold by Skylands Capital LLC

Key Points

• Skylands Capital reduced its Meta stake by 28.7% in the third quarter, selling 2,830 shares and retaining 7,035 shares valued at approximately $5.1 million. Despite this sale, institutional investors own 79.91% of Meta’s stock, with several major firms increasing their positions.
• Meta reported quarterly earnings of $7.40 per share on revenue of $64.6 billion, exceeding analyst expectations, while revenue grew 26.1% year over year. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $833.12.
• Insiders sold shares worth approximately $101.5 million during the last quarter under pre-arranged trading plans. Meta also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, representing a 0.3% annualized yield.

Skylands Capital LLC trimmed its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 28.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,035 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 2,830 shares during the period. Skylands Capital LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $5,102,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp grew its holdings in 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 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% during 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 buying an additional 2,673,494 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the 2nd 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 worth $7,230,426,000 after buying an additional 162,909 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in Meta Platforms by 18.1% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 11,858,972 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $6,784,873,000 after buying an additional 1,815,017 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.0% in 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 buying an additional 404,948 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $630.56 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.61 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.50, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $664.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $632.84. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month 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 1.90.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The social networking company reported $7.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.86. The firm had revenue of $64.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 31.15% and a return on equity of 30.73%. Meta Platforms's quarterly revenue was up 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $7.25 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan Li sold 9,196 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total transaction of $5,063,409.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at $7,260,343.46. This represents a 41.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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. Also, insider Christopher Cox sold 40,000 shares of the company'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 sale, the insider directly owned 184,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $131,515,624.16. The trade was a 17.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 148,440 shares of company stock worth $101,456,300 in the last quarter. Insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta plans to invest heavily in AI infrastructure, proprietary models, personal “superintelligence,” AI assistants such as Muse, and smart glasses. Analysts say the spending could accelerate new product launches and create additional monetization opportunities. Meta's $95 Billion AI Push Could Accelerate New Product Launches
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts remain bullish, citing Meta’s strong advertising business, user engagement, international revenue growth and relatively low valuation. The company recently reported quarterly revenue of $64.6 billion, up 26% year over year, while earnings exceeded expectations. Analysts Stand by Meta's AI Push
• Positive Sentiment: Investors could eventually benefit if AI improves ad targeting, engagement and new product revenue. Some research argues that Meta’s core Family of Apps business remains attractively valued despite current AI and Reality Labs losses. Meta Platforms: Muse May Be Metaverse 2.0
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta announced approximately $35 billion of equity offerings and plans to raise as much as $95 billion overall, including up to $60 billion through an at-the-market program involving new nonvoting Class C shares. The proceeds are intended to fund AI infrastructure and long-term growth. Meta Announces $95 Billion Stock Offering
• Neutral Sentiment: The financing plan includes a new share class and a mandatory convertible preferred offering that could carry a 6%–6.5% dividend yield, changing Meta’s capital structure while limiting immediate cash funding needs. The New Meta Convertible Stock Offering
• Negative Sentiment: The planned stock issuance creates dilution risk and signals that Meta’s AI buildout will require substantial external capital. Investors are also concerned that aggressive spending could compress margins and weaken free cash flow before AI investments generate returns.
• Negative Sentiment: Meta’s elevated capital-expenditure outlook, combined with a reported $9.89 billion legal charge, has intensified concerns about near-term earnings quality, cash flow and execution risk. Meta Q3 Legal Charge and Capital Expenditures

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. DZ Bank reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $850.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $905.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $833.12.

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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