Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stock: Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 18.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,063 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 4,330 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 0.9% of Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $20,351,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 18.6% in the second quarter. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd now owns 18,777 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $10,577,000 after buying an additional 2,939 shares during the period. Madison Wealth Partners Inc grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 33.6% during the 2nd quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc now owns 3,031 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 763 shares in the last quarter. William John Sempolinski bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,107,000. Sone Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 38.2% during the second quarter. Sone Capital Management LLC now owns 16,059 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $9,046,000 after purchasing an additional 4,440 shares during the period. Finally, Lakewood Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 63.7% during the second quarter. Lakewood Capital Management LP now owns 115,985 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $65,333,000 after purchasing an additional 45,130 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 149,515 shares of company stock worth $102,183,520 in the last quarter. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt restated a “buy” rating and issued a $875.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $833.12.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $614.99 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.57 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.97, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a fifty day moving average of $670.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $632.26. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $520.26 and a 52-week high of $779.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The social networking company reported $7.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.86. The business had revenue of $64.60 billion for 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 26.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $7.25 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. 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 presently 7.16%.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

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.