Milestone Asset Management LLC Sells 858 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Milestone Asset Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 48.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 915 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 858 shares during the period. Milestone Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $664,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of META. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 18.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 2,939 shares during the last quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 33.6% during the 2nd quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc now owns 3,031 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,707,000 after acquiring an additional 763 shares in the last quarter. William John Sempolinski purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,107,000. Sone Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 38.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sone Capital Management LLC now owns 16,059 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $9,046,000 after acquiring an additional 4,440 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lakewood Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 63.7% during the 2nd quarter. Lakewood Capital Management LP now owns 115,985 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $65,333,000 after acquiring an additional 45,130 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $709.33 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.81 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.72, a PEG ratio of 1.23 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. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $655.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $625.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). The company had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $7.14 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.81 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Christopher Cox sold 40,000 shares of Meta Platforms 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. The trade was a 17.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $728.10, for a total transaction of $688,782.60. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 6,932 shares in the company, valued at $5,047,189.20. This trade represents a 12.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 149,797 shares of company stock worth $102,180,385 over the last three months. 13.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Meta Platforms from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. HSBC reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $905.00 to $830.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $600.00 price target (down from $700.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $763.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $740.00 to $955.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $808.88.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America expects Meta to exceed third-quarter revenue expectations, forecasting $63.8 billion versus a $63.3 billion consensus estimate, and maintained a Buy rating with an $810 price target. Meta expected to beat revenue forecasts as AI boosts advertising, says Bank of America
• Positive Sentiment: Meta released the open-weight Muse Spark model for coding and AI-agent tasks, while its collaboration with Apple enables developers to run the model locally on high-end Mac computers. The developments could broaden adoption of Meta’s AI technology and reduce reliance on cloud infrastructure. Meta releases open-weight Muse Spark model
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan reaffirmed its Overweight rating and set a $920 price target, implying substantial upside, while other analysts including KeyCorp and Rosenblatt also maintained positive ratings. JPMorgan reaffirms Meta rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is expected to report third-quarter results on October 21. Investors will focus on advertising growth, user metrics, profitability, capital expenditures, and management’s outlook for AI infrastructure spending. Meta Q3 earnings estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta withdrew $25 million from a previously announced $65 million effort to support political candidates considered favorable to the AI industry. The move may reduce near-term spending but signals a change in its political strategy. Meta Withdraws $25 Million from Its Midterms Push
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst-related pressure is weighing on the stock after Goldman Sachs lowered its expectations and Meta was reported down following an analyst downgrade, countering the more bullish JPMorgan view. Meta stock price down on analyst downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that AI infrastructure spending could reach approximately $205 billion in 2027. Heavy capital expenditures are reducing free cash flow, while potential legal charges and regulatory scrutiny add to earnings risk. Meta AI spending could hit $205 billion
• Negative Sentiment: Seven U.S. senators are questioning Meta’s claim of $6.6 billion in research tax credits for AI data centers, creating potential tax liability and reputational risk. Senators question Meta AI data-center tax credits

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’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.