RWQ Financial Management Services Inc. Acquires 7,264 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• RWQ Financial Management Services nearly doubled its Meta stake in the third quarter, purchasing 7,264 additional shares to hold 14,970 shares worth approximately $10.9 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 79.91% of Meta.
• Meta reported quarterly revenue of $64.6 billion and earnings of $7.40 per share, exceeding analyst estimates, with revenue up 26.1% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, equivalent to a 0.3% annualized yield.
• Insiders sold shares worth approximately $102.3 million over the past 90 days, including transactions by CFO Susan Li and CEO Mark Zuckerberg under pre-arranged trading plans. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with an average price target of $811.24.

RWQ Financial Management Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 94.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,970 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 7,264 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 6.1% of RWQ Financial Management Services Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. RWQ Financial Management Services Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $10,856,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of META. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.0% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 92,033,963 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $51,841,811,000 after purchasing an additional 3,510,123 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.6% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 21,038,035 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $12,036,491,000 after purchasing an additional 2,673,494 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $7,230,426,000 after purchasing an additional 162,909 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,815,017 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,429,812 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,964,745,000 after buying an additional 404,948 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,196 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was 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 approximately $7,260,343.46. This represents a 41.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total value of $21,359,386.56. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 149,906 shares of company stock valued at $102,347,409 over the last 90 days. 13.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.5%

Meta Platforms stock opened at $697.52 on Thursday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $662.27 and its 200-day moving average is $629.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $779.82. The company has a market cap of $1.78 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.27, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.19.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The social networking company reported $7.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.86. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The business had revenue of $64.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $7.25 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.91%.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Revenue and earnings exceeded expectations. Meta reported record quarterly revenue of approximately $64.6 billion, up 26% year over year and above the roughly $63.3 billion consensus estimate. Earnings of $7.40 per share also surpassed analyst expectations near $6.54. The results highlighted continued strength in advertising volume, pricing and monetization. Meta Platforms Tops Q3 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Muse is gaining meaningful traction. Meta said its AI assistant Muse has more than 10 million users, with shopping among the leading activities. Investors see the product as a potential way to increase engagement, improve recommendations and generate additional advertising and commerce revenue across Meta’s roughly 3.5 billion-user ecosystem. Meta Says Muse Has Over 10M Users
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts view the core business and AI returns favorably. Commentary following the report cited strong ad efficiency, higher engagement and healthy adjusted operating margins, supporting bullish views that Meta’s AI investments are beginning to contribute to the advertising business. Meta Q3 Strong Growth Makes This a Strong Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is expanding AI funding while trying to manage cash pressure. Third-quarter capital expenditures reached about $34.9 billion, and the company raised the low end of its annual spending outlook. A new nonvoting Class C share is intended to help fund the AI buildout without reducing Mark Zuckerberg’s voting control, but it introduces potential dilution and reinforces concerns about heavy future investment. Meta to Issue New Class of Shares
• Negative Sentiment: Legal liabilities remain a major overhang. A $9.9 billion charge tied to a teen social-media lawsuit weighed on reported profit, while a New Mexico court ordered Meta to pay $25 billion in a separate privacy case. Meta plans to appeal, but the judgment increases regulatory, financial and reputational risks. Meta Ordered to Pay $25 Billion to New Mexico
• Negative Sentiment: AI profitability is not yet established. Zuckerberg said Muse carries very high computing costs, and Reality Labs could lose approximately $15 billion next year. These losses may limit free cash flow and keep investors sensitive to whether AI growth ultimately produces returns exceeding the cost of the buildout. Meta CEO Says Muse and Reality Labs Are Unprofitable
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling added a modest cautionary signal. COO Javier Olivan sold shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. Because the transactions were scheduled in advance, they are not necessarily a judgment on Meta’s outlook, but they reduce his direct ownership. SEC Insider Ownership Filing

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on META shares. Scotiabank reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $600.00 price objective (down from $700.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $700.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $920.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $750.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Three 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.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $811.24.

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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