Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Purchases 20,297 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 224,133 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,297 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.8% of Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $162,537,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in META. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.2% in the third quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,722 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $7,775,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Uncommon Cents Investing Inc increased its position in Meta Platforms by 37.0% during the 3rd quarter. Uncommon Cents Investing Inc now owns 596 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $432,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Harfst & Associates Inc. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Harfst & Associates Inc. now owns 3,525 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,556,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 1,844,944 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,337,916,000 after purchasing an additional 222,810 shares during the period. Finally, Redstone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at about $225,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of the 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total transaction of $4,379,184.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $462,024. This trade represents a 90.46% 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 have sold a total of 149,906 shares of company stock worth $102,347,409 over the last 90 days. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Strong Q3 operating performance: Meta reported $64.6 billion in revenue, up 26% year over year, and adjusted earnings of $7.40 per share versus expectations of roughly $6.54. AI-driven recommendations and advertising tools are improving engagement, ad pricing and conversions. META Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Muse adoption supports the AI thesis: Meta’s Muse AI agent has surpassed 10 million downloads, strengthening the case that the company could eventually monetize AI through subscriptions, enterprise services and additional advertising. However, meaningful revenue contribution is expected later, potentially from 2027 onward. Meta Muse Adoption
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly constructive: UBS, Citigroup, Mizuho, JPMorgan, Bank of America and other firms raised or reaffirmed bullish ratings and price targets, citing resilient advertising growth and long-term AI potential. Some investors, including commentator Mike Khouw, view the selloff as a buying opportunity. Why Mike Khouw Is Buying Meta
• Neutral Sentiment: New Class C shares and a 2-for-1 split: Meta plans to issue one non-voting Class C share for each Class A and Class B share. The move should improve trading liquidity and give Mark Zuckerberg greater flexibility to sell shares or finance AI investment without surrendering voting control, but it does not by itself create economic value for shareholders. Meta’s New Non-Voting Shares
• Neutral Sentiment: Commercial terms delayed: Meta postponed controversial terms that publishers and advertisers said could authorize broader web scraping, moving implementation to November 20 from October 30. The delay may reduce near-term friction, though the underlying regulatory and customer concerns remain. Meta Delays Commercial Terms
• Negative Sentiment: AI spending is the main pressure: Meta lifted the lower end of its 2026 capital-expenditure forecast to $135 billion, with spending potentially reaching $145 billion. Free cash flow turned negative as infrastructure investment accelerated, while credit-default-swap costs reached records. Investors are questioning when Muse and other AI projects will generate returns. Meta AI Spending and Free Cash Flow
• Negative Sentiment: Legal and regulatory risks remain significant: Meta faces a $25 billion New Mexico privacy judgment, additional lawsuits alleging harm to children and scam advertising, and rising legal costs. The company plans to appeal the New Mexico ruling, but the liabilities add uncertainty and pressure margins. Meta New Mexico Privacy Judgment

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $642.62 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.64 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 1.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $664.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $629.72. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $779.82.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st were paid a dividend of $0.5250 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 21st. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 7.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on META. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $850.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $700.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $920.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday. Finally, HSBC lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $905.00 to $830.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $833.12.

About Meta Platforms

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.