Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stock: WASHINGTON TRUST Co Grows Position

Key Points

• WASHINGTON TRUST Co increased its Meta position by 1.9% in the third quarter to 76,304 shares valued at approximately $55.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.91% of Meta’s outstanding stock.
• Meta’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with earnings of $7.40 per share and revenue of $64.6 billion, up 26.1% year over year. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, equivalent to a 0.3% yield.
• Analysts maintain a broadly positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and average price target of $833.12. Meta COO Javier Olivan sold about $605,000 of shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan.

WASHINGTON TRUST Co raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 1.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 76,304 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,441 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 1.7% of WASHINGTON TRUST Co's portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. WASHINGTON TRUST Co's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $55,334,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Horizons Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Advantage Trust Co purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Philadelphia Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Schuylkill Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.2%

NASDAQ:META opened at $612.49 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.88, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.19. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $779.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $667.08 and a 200 day moving average of $632.53.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The social networking company reported $7.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.86. The business 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%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $7.25 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on META shares. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. DZ Bank restated a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Phillip Securities raised Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $795.00 to $750.00 in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $850.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $885.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report 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 assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $833.12.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta priced a $25 billion Class A common-stock offering and a $12.5 billion mandatory convertible preferred-stock offering, with proceeds earmarked for its artificial-intelligence infrastructure. The common offering reportedly attracted demand several times greater than the shares available, suggesting institutional interest in Meta’s AI strategy. Meta offering pricing
• Positive Sentiment: Nvidia plans to invest $3 billion in Meta and expand its partnership around Meta’s Muse AI assistant and models. The deal provides third-party validation for Meta’s AI ambitions and may help secure access to Nvidia hardware. Nvidia invests in Meta partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s core advertising business remains strong: ad impressions increased 10% year over year, average ad prices rose 14%, and AI improvements reportedly lifted app-ad conversions by 9.6%. Early adoption of Muse and new AI experiments such as Waddle World could create future commerce and subscription revenue. Meta AI risk and reward
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta delayed indefinitely the rollout of new commercial terms after publisher objections. The move could reduce near-term conflict but leaves unresolved questions about the company’s relationship with media organizations and use of publisher content. Meta delays commercial terms
• Negative Sentiment: The major concern is dilution: Meta is pursuing nearly $98 billion in equity financing, including new common and convertible preferred securities. Investors appear worried that the funding will reduce per-share value even if it finances long-term AI growth. Meta stock analysis and dilution
• Negative Sentiment: AI investment is weighing heavily on near-term financials. Capital expenditures reached $34.9 billion, producing negative free cash flow of $2.1 billion, while higher spending and legal costs pressured margins. This has led some analysts to downgrade the stock, despite revenue exceeding expectations. Meta AI spending downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Meta COO Javier Olivan sold shares worth approximately $1.0 million in two transactions. Both sales were executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, reducing their significance as a signal of management’s outlook. SEC insider transaction filing

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $640.00, for a total transaction of $605,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 5,040 shares in the company, valued at $3,225,600. The trade was a 15.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 150,015 shares of company stock valued at $102,464,300. 13.53% of the stock is owned by company 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'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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