Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stock: YANKCOM Partnership Boosts Position

YANKCOM Partnership raised its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 21.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,791 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 839 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.2% of YANKCOM Partnership’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. YANKCOM Partnership’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,474,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of META. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.5% in the third quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. now owns 4,956 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,594,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. First Merchants Corp increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. First Merchants Corp now owns 25,009 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $18,136,000 after purchasing an additional 3,017 shares in the last quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 95.3% during the 3rd quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 16,313 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $11,830,000 after purchasing an additional 7,960 shares in the last quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 30.3% during the 3rd quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. now owns 1,044 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $757,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Harvest LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 17.5% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Harvest LLC now owns 1,015 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $736,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META stock opened at $709.33 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $520.26 and a 52-week high of $779.82. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $655.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $625.86. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.81 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.19.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) 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 business had revenue of $60.80 billion during 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%. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $7.14 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.81 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 21st. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on META. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $930.00 to $950.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $763.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $955.00 to $855.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Arete Research boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $735.00 to $806.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $700.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $808.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Christopher Cox sold 40,000 shares of Meta Platforms 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 184,516 shares in the company, valued at $131,515,624.16. The trade was a 17.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total transaction of $21,359,386.56. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 149,797 shares of company stock valued at $102,180,385. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America expects Meta to exceed third-quarter revenue expectations, forecasting $63.8 billion versus a $63.3 billion consensus estimate, and maintained a Buy rating with an $810 price target. Meta expected to beat revenue forecasts as AI boosts advertising, says Bank of America
• Positive Sentiment: Meta released the open-weight Muse Spark model for coding and AI-agent tasks, while its collaboration with Apple enables developers to run the model locally on high-end Mac computers. The developments could broaden adoption of Meta’s AI technology and reduce reliance on cloud infrastructure. Meta releases open-weight Muse Spark model
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan reaffirmed its Overweight rating and set a $920 price target, implying substantial upside, while other analysts including KeyCorp and Rosenblatt also maintained positive ratings. JPMorgan reaffirms Meta rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is expected to report third-quarter results on October 21. Investors will focus on advertising growth, user metrics, profitability, capital expenditures, and management’s outlook for AI infrastructure spending. Meta Q3 earnings estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta withdrew $25 million from a previously announced $65 million effort to support political candidates considered favorable to the AI industry. The move may reduce near-term spending but signals a change in its political strategy. Meta Withdraws $25 Million from Its Midterms Push
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst-related pressure is weighing on the stock after Goldman Sachs lowered its expectations and Meta was reported down following an analyst downgrade, countering the more bullish JPMorgan view. Meta stock price down on analyst downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that AI infrastructure spending could reach approximately $205 billion in 2027. Heavy capital expenditures are reducing free cash flow, while potential legal charges and regulatory scrutiny add to earnings risk. Meta AI spending could hit $205 billion
• Negative Sentiment: Seven U.S. senators are questioning Meta’s claim of $6.6 billion in research tax credits for AI data centers, creating potential tax liability and reputational risk. Senators question Meta AI data-center tax credits

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.