Park Avenue Securities LLC Sells 1,265 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Park Avenue Securities reduced its Meta stake by 1.2%, selling 1,265 shares and retaining 104,946 shares valued at approximately $76.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.91% of Meta’s stock.
• Meta reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $7.40 exceeding estimates and revenue rising 26.1% year over year to $64.6 billion. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $833.12.
• Meta’s outlook is supported by strong advertising performance and a new $1 billion AMD investment and chip-development partnership, while COO Javier Olivan sold shares under a pre-arranged trading plan.

Park Avenue Securities LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 104,946 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 1,265 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $76,105,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in META. Horizons Wealth Management purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Advantage Trust Co bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Philadelphia Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth $32,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Schuylkill Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $640.00, for a total transaction of $605,440.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 5,040 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,225,600. The trade was a 15.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 149,515 shares of company stock worth $102,183,520 in the last three months. Insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META opened at $614.99 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.57 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.97, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $670.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $632.26. 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 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 for the quarter was up 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $7.25 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st were issued 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 currently 7.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on META. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. UBS Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $920.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Bank of America raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $810.00 to $845.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Barclays lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $880.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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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