Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Holdings Increased by Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA

Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA increased its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 277,550 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,311 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 1.9% of Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $201,274,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of META. Advantage Trust Co bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth $28,000. Philadelphia Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at $32,000. Horizons Wealth Management bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Schuylkill Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting 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

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $640.00, for a total transaction of $605,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 5,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 150,015 shares of company stock worth $102,464,300 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $614.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $670.03 and a 200-day moving average of $632.26. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $779.82.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The social networking company reported $7.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.86. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 30.73% and a net margin of 31.15%. 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 company posted $7.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 26.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st were issued a dividend of $0.5250 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 21st. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 7.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on META. China Renaissance dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $700.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Roth Capital decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Meta Platforms from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $763.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $865.00 to $850.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $833.12.

Meta Platforms 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.