Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stock: One Way Holdings LLC Cuts Stake

One Way Holdings LLC trimmed its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 92.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,835 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 32,544 shares during the quarter. One Way Holdings LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,056,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Corient Private Wealth LP increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 723.1% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 8,801,764 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $4,957,946,000 after purchasing an additional 7,732,446 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,948,486,000. State Street Corp lifted 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 valued at $51,841,811,000 after buying an additional 3,510,123 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted 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 valued at $12,036,491,000 after buying an additional 2,673,494 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 18.1% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 11,858,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,784,873,000 after buying an additional 1,815,017 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META stock opened at $610.15 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month high of $779.82. The firm has a market cap of $1.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.80, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.28. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $674.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $632.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched Spaces, a collaboration feature for its Muse AI agents, following the rollout of Muse Voice. The new offerings may help strengthen user engagement and expand Meta’s consumer AI ecosystem. Meta introduces Spaces
• Positive Sentiment: Recent earnings commentary points to AI supporting Meta’s advertising operations, reinforcing the potential for the company’s AI investments to generate revenue. Takeaways from recent earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta paused planned updates to its terms and is keeping existing rules in place. The move avoids an immediate policy change, though the underlying issues remain unresolved. Meta pauses planned terms updates
• Neutral Sentiment: Plans for new nonvoting Class C shares have been described as effectively creating a 2-for-1 split. A split changes the number of shares, but does not by itself change the company’s underlying value; the structure preserves Mark Zuckerberg’s voting control. Is Meta Platforms next for a stock split?
• Negative Sentiment: Meta and other platforms sued to block California restrictions on social-media features for users under 16. The case adds regulatory uncertainty and potential legal costs. Platforms sue over California teen social-media law
• Negative Sentiment: Meta warned that political backlash and possible limits on data-center construction could complicate its AI expansion. Its $15 billion senior-notes offering also highlights the scale of financing required for investment. Data-center expansion concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Reported ETF net selling and insider share sales may add short-term pressure, although the disclosed insider transaction was made under a pre-arranged trading plan. ETFs are net sellers of Meta Platforms

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on META. DZ Bank reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. President Capital raised Meta Platforms from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $660.00 to $897.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. BNP Paribas Exane cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $955.00 to $855.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, China Renaissance cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $700.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $833.12.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total transaction of $21,359,386.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 3,240 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $618.06, for a total transaction of $2,002,514.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,271 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,875,854.26. This trade represents a 34.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 three months, insiders sold 151,090 shares of company stock worth $103,150,807. 13.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc is a global technology company that develops social networking, messaging, and digital communication products. Its services include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Threads, which connect people and help businesses reach audiences around the world.

The company also develops virtual and augmented reality products and technologies through its Reality Labs division, including Quest headsets and related software and services. Advertising is a central part of Meta’s business, with its platforms providing tools for businesses to promote products and services.

Founded in 2004 as Facebook by Mark Zuckerberg and fellow students, the company changed its name to Meta Platforms in 2021 to reflect its broader focus on building social technologies and immersive digital experiences.