Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Salem Investment Counselors Inc.

Posted by George Bondi on Oct 14th, 2026

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) by 0.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 157,498 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 864 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 2.8% of Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $114,214,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Horizons Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Philadelphia Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Schuylkill Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on META shares. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $865.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Citizens Jmp boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $885.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Citic Securities decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $718.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $796.51.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

Positive Sentiment: Meta introduced Muse Wonder and Muse Wonder Full, frontier AI models designed for complex, multi-step personal and professional tasks. The launch supports the view that Meta is catching up with OpenAI and Anthropic while creating potential subscription and advertising opportunities. Meta Platforms Introduces AI Tools to Fine-Tune Facebook Algorithms
Positive Sentiment: Third-party app data reportedly showed strong early retention for Meta’s standalone Muse assistant, helping ease concerns about slowing downloads and reinforcing expectations that the company’s AI investments can improve engagement and monetization. Why Meta Stock Is Up Today
Positive Sentiment: Wall Street support strengthened, with Truist assigning a $1,000 price target and KeyCorp and Rosenblatt reaffirming bullish ratings with targets of $900 and $886, respectively. Analysts cited Muse adoption and AI-driven advertising improvements as catalysts. Social Media Stocks Rally as Truist Sets $1,000 Meta Target
Positive Sentiment: Meta’s partnership with Virtuix expanded, with Omni One orders reportedly tripling year over year after becoming available for Meta Quest. The development provides modest support for demand across Meta’s virtual-reality ecosystem. Virtuix Deepens Meta Partnership
Neutral Sentiment: Facebook is giving users more control over feed-ranking algorithms. The move may improve user trust and engagement, although greater personalization controls could affect content distribution and ad performance. Facebook Gives Users More Algorithm Control
Negative Sentiment: Investors remain cautious about Meta’s premium valuation and substantial AI spending, with planned capital expenditures reportedly reaching $130 billion to $145 billion. Third-quarter results, scheduled for October 21, will be important for validating AI monetization and revenue guidance. Meta Q3 Preview

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total transaction of $28,510,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 184,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $131,515,624.16. The trade was a 17.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $728.08, for a total value of $688,763.68. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 7,878 shares in the company, valued at $5,735,814.24. This trade represents a 10.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 148,222 shares of company stock valued at $101,033,627 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $762.50 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $647.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $622.44. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month high of $779.82. The stock has a market cap of $1.94 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.19.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The company had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $7.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.91%.

Meta Platforms Profile

(Free Report)

Meta Platforms, Inc is a technology company that develops social networking, messaging, virtual and augmented reality, and artificial intelligence products. The company operates a global family of apps that includes Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads, enabling users to connect, communicate, share content and discover communities.

Meta generates most of its business through digital advertising displayed across its platforms. Its products serve individuals, creators, businesses and organizations in markets around the world, while its advertising tools help businesses reach audiences based on factors such as interests, activity and demographics.

Through its Reality Labs division, Meta develops virtual and augmented reality hardware, software and services, including the Meta Quest line of headsets and related experiences.