Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. Sells 3,041 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Pinnacle Bancorp cut its Meta stake by 48.5% in the third quarter, selling 3,041 shares and retaining 3,223 shares valued at approximately $2.34 million. Institutional investors own 79.91% of Meta’s stock.
• Meta reported a strong quarter, with earnings of $7.40 per share and revenue of $64.6 billion, exceeding analyst estimates; revenue increased 26.1% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a generally bullish outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an $833.12 price target, though Meta’s planned AI funding—including up to $95 billion in capital raising—raises concerns about dilution, spending and margin pressure.

Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lessened its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 48.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,223 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 3,041 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,337,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 18.6% during the second quarter. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd now owns 18,777 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $10,577,000 after purchasing an additional 2,939 shares during the last quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 33.6% during the second quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc now owns 3,031 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 763 shares during the period. William John Sempolinski bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth about $3,107,000. Sone Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 38.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sone Capital Management LLC now owns 16,059 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $9,046,000 after buying an additional 4,440 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lakewood Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 63.7% in the 2nd quarter. Lakewood Capital Management LP now owns 115,985 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $65,333,000 after buying an additional 45,130 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $630.56 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $664.68 and a 200-day moving average of $632.84. The company has a market cap of $1.61 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $779.82.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $64.60 billion for 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%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 26.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $7.25 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $707.20, for a total value of $669,011.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 5,986 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,233,299.20. This represents a 13.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total value of $28,510,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 148,440 shares of company stock worth $101,456,300. 13.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $740.00 to $955.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $820.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Citic Securities cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $718.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Daiwa Securities Group decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $687.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, China Renaissance decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $700.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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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