Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stock Acquired by James Investment Research Inc.

James Investment Research Inc. boosted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,027 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,147 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 1.4% of James Investment Research Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. James Investment Research Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $13,073,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Advantage Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Philadelphia Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Horizons Wealth Management bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Schuylkill Financial LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta priced a $25 billion Class A common-stock offering and a $12.5 billion mandatory convertible preferred-stock offering, with proceeds earmarked for its artificial-intelligence infrastructure. The common offering reportedly attracted demand several times greater than the shares available, suggesting institutional interest in Meta’s AI strategy. Meta offering pricing
• Positive Sentiment: Nvidia plans to invest $3 billion in Meta and expand its partnership around Meta’s Muse AI assistant and models. The deal provides third-party validation for Meta’s AI ambitions and may help secure access to Nvidia hardware. Nvidia invests in Meta partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s core advertising business remains strong: ad impressions increased 10% year over year, average ad prices rose 14%, and AI improvements reportedly lifted app-ad conversions by 9.6%. Early adoption of Muse and new AI experiments such as Waddle World could create future commerce and subscription revenue. Meta AI risk and reward
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta delayed indefinitely the rollout of new commercial terms after publisher objections. The move could reduce near-term conflict but leaves unresolved questions about the company’s relationship with media organizations and use of publisher content. Meta delays commercial terms
• Negative Sentiment: The major concern is dilution: Meta is pursuing nearly $98 billion in equity financing, including new common and convertible preferred securities. Investors appear worried that the funding will reduce per-share value even if it finances long-term AI growth. Meta stock analysis and dilution
• Negative Sentiment: AI investment is weighing heavily on near-term financials. Capital expenditures reached $34.9 billion, producing negative free cash flow of $2.1 billion, while higher spending and legal costs pressured margins. This has led some analysts to downgrade the stock, despite revenue exceeding expectations. Meta AI spending downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Meta COO Javier Olivan sold shares worth approximately $1.0 million in two transactions. Both sales were executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, reducing their significance as a signal of management’s outlook. SEC insider transaction filing

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on META. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $820.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Moffett Nathanson decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $740.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Loop Capital raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $740.00 to $955.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $920.00 to $940.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $833.12.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META opened at $612.49 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $667.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $632.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The company has a market capitalization of $1.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.19. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $779.82.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The social networking company reported $7.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.86. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 30.73% and a net margin of 31.15%. The company had revenue of $64.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.34 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $7.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 21st. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, CFO Susan Li sold 9,196 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total transaction of $5,063,409.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,260,343.46. The trade was a 41.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Christopher Cox sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total transaction of $28,510,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 184,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $131,515,624.16. This trade represents a 17.82% 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 have sold 150,015 shares of company stock valued at $102,464,300. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms 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.