Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Acquired by Kercheville Advisors LLC

Kercheville Advisors LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 20.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 16,378 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 2,744 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 3.2% of Kercheville Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Kercheville Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $11,877,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Watchman Group Inc. raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Watchman Group Inc. now owns 5,091 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,913,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Penney Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.9% during the first quarter. Penney Financial LLC now owns 399 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.0% during the first quarter. Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $869,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the third quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 1,206 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $874,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, CWS Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the first quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC now owns 985 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $564,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta reported third-quarter revenue of $64.6 billion, up 26.1% year over year, while adjusted earnings of $7.40 per share exceeded analyst expectations. Advertising remained robust, supported by AI-driven engagement, higher ad prices and improved conversion rates. META’s Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Meta said its Muse AI assistant surpassed 10 million users shortly after launch, strengthening the long-term case for new advertising, consumer and enterprise revenue opportunities. Meta says Muse has over 10M users
• Positive Sentiment: Several firms raised their price targets and maintained bullish ratings, including Bank of America, JPMorgan, UBS, Citigroup, Mizuho and Pivotal Research, citing resilient advertising and improving AI prospects. Meta Stock Falls Despite Strong Q3 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta announced a 2-for-1 stock split and a new non-voting Class C share. The structure could help fund its AI buildout while preserving Mark Zuckerberg’s voting control, but it also raises concerns about future dilution and governance. Meta wants to pay for its AI buildout
• Negative Sentiment: Investors were alarmed by Meta’s capital-spending outlook of approximately $135 billion to $145 billion for 2026. Heavy data-center and AI investment pushed free cash flow negative, while credit-default-swap costs reached a record, intensifying concerns about debt or equity financing. Meta stock sinks as AI spend pushes free cash flow negative
• Negative Sentiment: A New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay $25 billion in a Cambridge Analytica-related privacy case. Meta plans to appeal, but the verdict adds substantial legal, regulatory and reputational risk. Meta ordered to pay $25 billion to New Mexico
• Negative Sentiment: Broader technology-market weakness, AI-investment concerns and escalating Middle East tensions added to the selling pressure, making it harder for Meta’s earnings beat to support the stock.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total transaction of $21,359,386.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $707.20, for a total value of $669,011.20. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 5,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,233,299.20. This represents a 13.65% 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 149,906 shares of company stock valued at $102,347,409. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META opened at $648.85 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.65 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.44, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a fifty day moving average of $663.35 and a 200 day moving average of $629.62. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week high of $779.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The social networking company reported $7.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 31.74%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 26.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $7.25 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on META. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $730.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday. Loop Capital raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $740.00 to $955.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 24th. UBS Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $920.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $840.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $833.12.

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.