Sanders Morris Harris LLC Makes New $4.42 Million Investment in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Sanders Morris Harris LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 6,042 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,416,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Horizons Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Philadelphia Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Schuylkill Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s new Muse Wonder and Muse Wonder Full AI models are strengthening its competitive position. Muse Wonder ranked second in a 57-model accounting benchmark, ahead of OpenAI and Google models, supporting the view that Meta is narrowing the gap with leading AI developers. Muse Wonder benchmark article
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America reiterated its Buy rating and $810 price target, while Guggenheim raised its target to $850 and Truist maintained a bullish $1,000 target. Analysts cited Meta’s large user base, AI distribution and potential future revenue from personal AI agents. Bank of America AI outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Meta expanded WhatsApp with free guest voice and video calling for non-account holders, potentially improving adoption and business utility by removing registration and download barriers. WhatsApp guest calling article
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street remains broadly constructive but divided. KeyCorp and Rosenblatt reaffirmed bullish ratings with targets of $900 and $886, respectively, while Goldman Sachs cut its target from $860 to $762 but retained a Buy rating. The differing views reflect uncertainty over AI monetization and investment requirements.
• Negative Sentiment: Goldman Sachs cited rising operating expenses, while other commentary warned that accelerated Meta Superintelligence Labs investment could pressure free cash flow and lead to valuation compression around the upcoming third-quarter earnings report.
• Negative Sentiment: COO Javier Olivan disclosed sales totaling 1,575 shares at an average $728.10. Both transactions were conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, reducing their signaling value, but the sales still represent a notable reduction in his direct holdings.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of a number of research reports. Roth Capital reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Erste Group Bank raised Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $920.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Tigress Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $945.00 price objective (down from $995.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $801.53.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, 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 value of $28,510,400.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total transaction of $21,359,386.56. 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 149,797 shares of company stock valued at $102,180,385 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $737.54 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week high of $779.82. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $650.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $623.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23. The stock has a market cap of $1.88 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.78, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.19.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 21st. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 7.91%.

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.