Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stock: Signal Advisors Wealth LLC Grows Holdings

Signal Advisors Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 22,186 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,154 shares during the period. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $16,089,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 105,292,277 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $69,502,379,000 after buying an additional 105,154,977 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew 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 acquiring an additional 3,510,123 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 14.6% in the first 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 acquiring an additional 2,673,494 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,200,469 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $12,013,948,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046,715 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the second 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 valued at $7,230,426,000 after acquiring an additional 162,909 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Christopher Cox sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 21st. The shares were 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 directly owned 184,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $131,515,624.16. This represents a 17.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible 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 company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $618.06, for a total value of $2,002,514.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,875,854.26. This represents a 34.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 148,222 shares of company stock valued at $101,033,627 in the last quarter. 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 introduced Muse Wonder and Muse Wonder Full, frontier AI models designed for complex, multi-step personal and professional tasks. The launch supports the view that Meta is catching up with OpenAI and Anthropic while creating potential subscription and advertising opportunities. Meta Platforms Introduces AI Tools to Fine-Tune Facebook Algorithms
• Positive Sentiment: Third-party app data reportedly showed strong early retention for Meta’s standalone Muse assistant, helping ease concerns about slowing downloads and reinforcing expectations that the company’s AI investments can improve engagement and monetization. Why Meta Stock Is Up Today
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street support strengthened, with Truist assigning a $1,000 price target and KeyCorp and Rosenblatt reaffirming bullish ratings with targets of $900 and $886, respectively. Analysts cited Muse adoption and AI-driven advertising improvements as catalysts. Social Media Stocks Rally as Truist Sets $1,000 Meta Target
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s partnership with Virtuix expanded, with Omni One orders reportedly tripling year over year after becoming available for Meta Quest. The development provides modest support for demand across Meta’s virtual-reality ecosystem. Virtuix Deepens Meta Partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: Facebook is giving users more control over feed-ranking algorithms. The move may improve user trust and engagement, although greater personalization controls could affect content distribution and ad performance. Facebook Gives Users More Algorithm Control
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain cautious about Meta’s premium valuation and substantial AI spending, with planned capital expenditures reportedly reaching $130 billion to $145 billion. Third-quarter results, scheduled for October 21, will be important for validating AI monetization and revenue guidance. Meta Q3 Preview

Meta Platforms Trading Up 2.6%

NASDAQ META opened at $762.50 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $647.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $622.44. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $779.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.94 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.72, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.19.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%. The firm had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $7.14 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors 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 yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 7.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on META. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $725.00 target price (down from $815.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $740.00 to $955.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $700.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Citizens Jmp raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $885.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $945.00 price objective (down from $995.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $796.51.

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 operates a global family of apps that includes Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads, enabling users to connect, communicate, share content and discover communities.

Meta generates most of its business through digital advertising displayed across its platforms. Its products serve individuals, creators, businesses and organizations in markets around the world, while its advertising tools help businesses reach audiences based on factors such as interests, activity and demographics.

Through its Reality Labs division, Meta develops virtual and augmented reality hardware, software and services, including the Meta Quest line of headsets and related experiences.