Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stock: Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Increases Position

Key Points

• Verdence Capital Advisors increased its Meta stake by 18.2% in the third quarter, bringing its holdings to 28,063 shares worth approximately $20.35 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 79.91% of Meta’s stock.
• Meta reported quarterly earnings of $7.40 per share, beating the $6.54 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 26.1% year over year to $64.60 billion. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $833.12.
• Company insiders sold 149,515 Meta shares worth approximately $102.2 million during the last quarter, including sales by CEO Mark Zuckerberg and CFO Susan Li under pre-arranged trading plans.

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 18.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,063 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 4,330 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 0.9% of Verdence Capital Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $20,351,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the third quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 1,206 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $874,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.8% in the third quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 866 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $630,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the first quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC now owns 985 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $564,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tenzing Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the second quarter. Tenzing Financial LLC now owns 1,210 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $726,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $614.99 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $670.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $632.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.57 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $520.26 and a 52-week high of $779.82.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The social networking company reported $7.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.86. The company had revenue of $64.60 billion for 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%. Meta Platforms's revenue was up 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $7.25 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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. 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 dividend payout ratio is 7.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Meta Platforms from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Roth Capital dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $750.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Wolfe Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $700.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $920.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $833.12.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of the business'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. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,196 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total value of $5,063,409.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,260,343.46. This trade represents a 41.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 149,515 shares of company stock worth $102,183,520 in the last quarter. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta settled a teen lawsuit alleging that Instagram and Facebook contributed to addiction, depression and eating disorders. Financial terms were not disclosed, but the agreement removes Meta from an upcoming Los Angeles trial and reduces near-term litigation uncertainty. Reuters settlement report
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s advertising fundamentals remain strong: recent coverage cited higher ad pricing, rising impressions, improved AI-driven ad conversions and strong engagement. Analysts also see meaningful upside, with one fair-value estimate raised from $813.65 to $848.38 per share. Meta fair value report
• Positive Sentiment: Meta expanded its relationship with Advanced Micro Devices, including a $1 billion equity investment and multi-generation chip co-design for Meta’s AI data centers. The deal may improve access to computing capacity and supplier diversification. AMD and Meta partnership report

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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