Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stock: Wedbush Securities Inc. Cuts Position

Wedbush Securities Inc. trimmed its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 55,930 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 2,191 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 1.0% of Wedbush Securities Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $40,560,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 62,762 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $45,514,000 after purchasing an additional 1,099 shares during the period. BRIA Capital Group LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 257.5% during the 3rd quarter. BRIA Capital Group LLC now owns 1,648 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,195,000 after purchasing an additional 1,187 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 18.0% in the third quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 2,414 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,751,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the period. Opulen Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 6.6% in the third quarter. Opulen Financial Group LLC now owns 990 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $718,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Finally, James Investment Research Inc. raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 6.8% in the third quarter. James Investment Research Inc. now owns 18,027 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $13,073,000 after buying an additional 1,147 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 26th. The shares were 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 $3,225,600. The trade was a 15.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 150,015 shares of company stock worth $102,464,300. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on META. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $865.00 to $850.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. CICC Research cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $773.00 to $700.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Phillip Securities raised shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $795.00 to $750.00 in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $750.00 and set an “outperform” 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 given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $833.12.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $612.49 on Thursday. 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. The company has a 50 day moving average of $667.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $632.53. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $520.26 and a 52-week high of $779.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The social networking company reported $7.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.86. The business had revenue of $64.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 31.15% and a return on equity of 30.73%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $7.25 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.98 earnings per share 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 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 payout ratio is 7.16%.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

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.