Kings Path Partners LLC Purchases 1,180 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,180 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $856,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. State Street Corp raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.0% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 92,033,963 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $51,841,811,000 after buying an additional 3,510,123 shares during the period. 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 during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the 2nd 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 acquiring an additional 162,909 shares during the period. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 18.1% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 11,858,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,784,873,000 after acquiring an additional 1,815,017 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,429,812 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,964,745,000 after acquiring an additional 404,948 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $630.56 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $664.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $632.84. The stock has a market cap of $1.61 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.50, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.19. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $779.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The social networking company reported $7.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.86. The firm had revenue of $64.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 30.73% and a net margin of 31.15%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $7.25 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 21st. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 7.16%.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $707.20, for a total value of $669,011.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 5,986 shares in the company, valued at $4,233,299.20. The trade was a 13.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Christopher K. 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 transaction of $28,510,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 184,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $131,515,624.16. This trade represents a 17.82% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 148,440 shares of company stock valued at $101,456,300. 13.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta plans to invest heavily in AI infrastructure, proprietary models, personal “superintelligence,” AI assistants such as Muse, and smart glasses. Analysts say the spending could accelerate new product launches and create additional monetization opportunities. Meta’s $95 Billion AI Push Could Accelerate New Product Launches
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts remain bullish, citing Meta’s strong advertising business, user engagement, international revenue growth and relatively low valuation. The company recently reported quarterly revenue of $64.6 billion, up 26% year over year, while earnings exceeded expectations. Analysts Stand by Meta’s AI Push
• Positive Sentiment: Investors could eventually benefit if AI improves ad targeting, engagement and new product revenue. Some research argues that Meta’s core Family of Apps business remains attractively valued despite current AI and Reality Labs losses. Meta Platforms: Muse May Be Metaverse 2.0
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta announced approximately $35 billion of equity offerings and plans to raise as much as $95 billion overall, including up to $60 billion through an at-the-market program involving new nonvoting Class C shares. The proceeds are intended to fund AI infrastructure and long-term growth. Meta Announces $95 Billion Stock Offering
• Neutral Sentiment: The financing plan includes a new share class and a mandatory convertible preferred offering that could carry a 6%–6.5% dividend yield, changing Meta’s capital structure while limiting immediate cash funding needs. The New Meta Convertible Stock Offering
• Negative Sentiment: The planned stock issuance creates dilution risk and signals that Meta’s AI buildout will require substantial external capital. Investors are also concerned that aggressive spending could compress margins and weaken free cash flow before AI investments generate returns.
• Negative Sentiment: Meta’s elevated capital-expenditure outlook, combined with a reported $9.89 billion legal charge, has intensified concerns about near-term earnings quality, cash flow and execution risk. Meta Q3 Legal Charge and Capital Expenditures

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Yorkville Ives initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $900.00 price target on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $840.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $880.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus 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.