Polaris Financial Partners Acquires 10,619 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Polaris Financial Partners bought a new stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 10,619 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,818,000. Meta Platforms accounts for about 3.6% of Polaris Financial Partners’ portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its position in Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 105,292,277 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $69,502,379,000 after purchasing an additional 105,154,977 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $51,841,811,000 after buying an additional 3,510,123 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 52,806,712 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,734,628,000 after buying an additional 878,396 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $22,152,075,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,673,494 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.3%

META stock traded up $2.15 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $728.08. 12,942,034 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,544,939. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $622.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $615.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $779.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.85 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The business had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $7.14 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.94 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s Muse AI agent is gaining significant attention and reportedly surpassed 5 million downloads. Investors see the free product as a potential way to expand engagement, strengthen Meta’s AI ecosystem and eventually support new advertising or commerce revenue. Zuckerberg’s Free AI Agent Hit 5 Million Downloads
• Positive Sentiment: Meta is expanding Muse for small businesses, linking the AI assistant with advertising, sales and operations. That strategy could accelerate ad growth and create a broader commercial use case for Meta’s AI investments. Meta Expands Muse for Small Businesses
• Positive Sentiment: Recent analyst optimism and Meta’s reported claims for billions of dollars in tax credits tied to AI data-center costs are supporting the bullish narrative around advertising growth, AI infrastructure and potential cost relief. Meta Stock Jumps Following Analyst Upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: Long-time Meta executive Justin Osofsky is leaving to become COO of AI infrastructure company Nscale ahead of its planned IPO. The move highlights demand for Meta’s AI and technology talent but could raise limited concerns about executive departures. Nscale Hires Meta’s Justin Osofsky
• Negative Sentiment: New Mexico prosecutors are seeking between $35 billion and $40 billion in penalties after a jury found Meta misled Facebook users about data privacy. Although the final amount and legal outcome remain unresolved, the potential liability is a major overhang. New Mexico Wants Meta to Pay Up to $40 Billion
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts warn that Meta’s recent rally now depends on Muse generating returns and avoiding privacy-related execution problems. Heavy AI spending could also pressure results if monetization fails to keep pace with investment. Meta Platforms: Things May Get Ugly

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Christopher Cox sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total transaction of $28,510,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 184,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $131,515,624.16. This trade represents a 17.82% decrease in their position. The sale 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, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was 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 directly owned 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $462,024. The trade was a 90.46% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 151,882 shares of company stock worth $103,032,319 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on META. CICC Research reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $773.00 to $700.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 31st. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $955.00 to $855.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. DZ Bank reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $800.00 target price (down from $850.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group lowered their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $687.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $787.86.

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 operates a global family of apps that includes Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads, enabling users to connect, communicate, share content and discover communities.

Meta generates most of its business through digital advertising displayed across its platforms. Its products serve individuals, creators, businesses and organizations in markets around the world, while its advertising tools help businesses reach audiences based on factors such as interests, activity and demographics.

Through its Reality Labs division, Meta develops virtual and augmented reality hardware, software and services, including the Meta Quest line of headsets and related experiences.