Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stock Sold by Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. trimmed its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 7.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 177,387 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 13,308 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 1.4% of Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $128,638,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of META. State Street Corp increased its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 2,673,494 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in 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 valued at $7,230,426,000 after acquiring an additional 162,909 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its position in Meta Platforms by 18.1% during the first 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 lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,429,812 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,964,745,000 after purchasing an additional 404,948 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the topic of several research reports. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $850.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $930.00 to $950.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. President Capital raised Meta Platforms from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $660.00 to $897.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $885.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $833.12.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on 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 owned 5,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,225,600. This trade represents a 15.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 149,515 shares of company stock worth $102,183,520. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $614.99 on Monday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week high of $779.82. The business’s fifty day moving average is $670.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $632.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm 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 1.28.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The social networking company reported $7.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.86. The company had revenue of $64.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 30.73% and a net margin of 31.15%. The firm’s revenue was up 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $7.25 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.01 earnings per share for the current 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. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 21st. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.16%.

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.