Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,735 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 4,521 shares during the quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $30,266,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its position in Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 105,292,277 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $69,502,379,000 after buying an additional 105,154,977 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 92,033,963 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $51,841,811,000 after acquiring an additional 3,510,123 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 21,038,035 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $12,036,491,000 after acquiring an additional 2,673,494 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,200,469 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $12,013,948,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046,715 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the second 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 worth $7,230,426,000 after purchasing an additional 162,909 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
META has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $720.00 to $580.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $820.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $796.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. China Renaissance dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $700.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Wedbush upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $791.86.
Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms
Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains strong: TD Cowen reaffirmed its “Buy” rating and set an $865 price target, implying substantial upside from recent levels. A broader analyst survey also shows a “Moderate Buy” consensus. Benzinga analyst rating report
- Positive Sentiment: Muse is gaining distribution: Meta’s Muse AI assistant launched on iPad shortly after its mobile debut and has topped app-download charts. The traction could strengthen Meta’s consumer AI strategy, although investors still need evidence that usage will become habitual and economically valuable. Meta’s Muse launches on iPad
- Positive Sentiment: AI ecosystem opportunities are expanding: Meta is working with Sierra, Shopify, Stripe, Walmart and others on an open protocol allowing AI agents to interact with businesses. The initiative could support future commerce and advertising use cases. Meta and Sierra AI agent protocol
- Neutral Sentiment: Executive stock sales were planned: COO Javier Olivan sold shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The transactions reduce his holdings but do not necessarily signal a change in management’s outlook.
- Neutral Sentiment: Manus raises independent capital: The AI startup’s parent raised more than $500 million after Meta abandoned its proposed acquisition. The funding validates Manus but also highlights that Meta no longer owns the potential asset. Manus raises more than $500 million after Meta exit
- Negative Sentiment: Florida is escalating youth-safety litigation: The state’s attorney general is seeking restrictions that could disable or limit infinite-scroll features for users under 14. Such restrictions could reduce engagement, advertising inventory and product flexibility if adopted more broadly. Florida seeks limits on Meta’s teen features
- Negative Sentiment: AI spending is raising cash-flow concerns: Meta is doubling down on data centers and AI infrastructure, but unlike cloud providers it primarily expects returns through its own apps rather than external cloud revenue. Investors are therefore focused on whether the spending will produce measurable advertising, engagement or AI monetization gains. Meta AI infrastructure cash-flow analysis
Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.5%
Shares of NASDAQ META traded down $3.39 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $717.92. The company had a trading volume of 8,371,522 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,434,770. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23. The company has a market capitalization of $1.83 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.01, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $634.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $618.50. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $779.82.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). The company had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $7.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.94 EPS for the current year.
Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st were paid 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 is 7.91%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Meta Platforms news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 184,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $131,515,624.16. This represents a 17.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 3,240 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $618.06, for a total value of $2,002,514.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 6,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,875,854.26. This represents a 34.07% 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 a total of 148,222 shares of company stock valued at $101,033,627 in the last three months. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.
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 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.
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