Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stock Position Boosted by Lincoln Capital Corp

Lincoln Capital Corp raised its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 225.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,325 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,996 shares during the quarter. Lincoln Capital Corp’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,136,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 18.6% during the 2nd quarter. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd now owns 18,777 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $10,577,000 after purchasing an additional 2,939 shares during the last quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 33.6% in the second quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc now owns 3,031 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,707,000 after buying an additional 763 shares during the last quarter. William John Sempolinski acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,107,000. Sone Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 38.2% in the second quarter. Sone Capital Management LLC now owns 16,059 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $9,046,000 after purchasing an additional 4,440 shares during the period. Finally, Lakewood Capital Management LP increased its stake in 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citic Securities reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $718.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, August 27th. CICC Research dropped their price target 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. UBS Group reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $725.00 target price (down from $815.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $796.51.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded up $19.54 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $762.50. The stock had a trading volume of 22,673,083 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,516,543. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The firm has a market cap of $1.94 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.72, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a fifty day moving average of $644.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $621.26. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week high of $779.82.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched Muse Wonder and Muse Wonder Full, frontier AI models designed for personal assistants and professional agents capable of memory retention and complex, multi-step tasks. The release is viewed as helping Meta close the gap with OpenAI and Anthropic and potentially expand its subscription and AI-assistant revenue opportunities. Meta releases its first frontier model, Muse Wonder
• Positive Sentiment: Third-party data indicated early Muse user retention was competitive with ChatGPT, supporting investor confidence that Meta’s AI products can attract and retain users. The company is charging $20 or $100 monthly for access to its most advanced model tiers. Why Meta Stock Is Up
• Positive Sentiment: Truist set a Street-high $1,000 price target, while KeyCorp and Rosenblatt reaffirmed bullish ratings with targets of $900 and $886, respectively. Analysts cited Muse adoption and AI-driven advertising improvements as potential catalysts. Social Media Stocks Rally on Meta Target
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s Quest ecosystem received a boost as Virtuix became an official Meta reseller and reported Omni One orders roughly tripled after launching for Quest. The announcement suggests continued third-party engagement with Meta’s virtual-reality platform, although direct financial benefits to Meta were not disclosed. Virtuix Deepens Meta Partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are looking ahead to Meta’s third-quarter results on October 21. Management previously guided to revenue of $61 billion–$64 billion, making advertising growth, Muse monetization and spending plans central to the earnings reaction. Meta to Announce Third Quarter 2026 Results
• Negative Sentiment: Concerns remain over Meta’s premium valuation and planned AI investment of approximately $130 billion–$145 billion. Some commentary warns that slowing assistant downloads, rising costs and competitive threats could pressure returns, despite analysts arguing that recent bearish headlines overstate those risks. Bearish AI Headlines

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total value of $28,510,400.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 184,516 shares in the company, valued at $131,515,624.16. The trade was a 17.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 stock was sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total transaction of $4,379,184.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $462,024. The trade was a 90.46% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 148,222 shares of company stock worth $101,033,627. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

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 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.