Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stock Purchased by IRON Financial LLC

IRON Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 45.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,089 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 962 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 0.9% of IRON Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. IRON Financial LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,240,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Advantage Trust Co bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Philadelphia Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Horizons Wealth Management bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Schuylkill Financial LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $614.99 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $670.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $632.26. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $520.26 and a 52-week high of $779.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The company has a market cap of $1.57 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.19.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The social networking company reported $7.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.86. The business had revenue of $64.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 31.15% and a return on equity of 30.73%. The firm’s revenue was up 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $7.25 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on META. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $955.00 to $855.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Arete Research upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $735.00 to $806.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $850.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $945.00 price target (down from $995.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $833.12.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta settled a teen lawsuit alleging that Instagram and Facebook contributed to addiction, depression and eating disorders. Financial terms were not disclosed, but the agreement removes Meta from an upcoming Los Angeles trial and reduces near-term litigation uncertainty. Reuters settlement report
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s advertising fundamentals remain strong: recent coverage cited higher ad pricing, rising impressions, improved AI-driven ad conversions and strong engagement. Analysts also see meaningful upside, with one fair-value estimate raised from $813.65 to $848.38 per share. Meta fair value report
• Positive Sentiment: Meta expanded its relationship with Advanced Micro Devices, including a $1 billion equity investment and multi-generation chip co-design for Meta’s AI data centers. The deal may improve access to computing capacity and supplier diversification. AMD and Meta partnership report

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $640.00, for a total value of $605,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 5,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,225,600. This represents a 15.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 150,015 shares of company stock worth $102,464,300. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.