22,743 Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Bought by TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 489,675 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,743 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 0.9% of TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $355,765,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Watchman Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.3% in the first quarter. Watchman Group Inc. now owns 5,091 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,913,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Penney Financial LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Penney Financial LLC now owns 399 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $869,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 1,206 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $874,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWS Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC now owns 985 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $564,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on META shares. President Capital upgraded Meta Platforms from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $660.00 to $897.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Daiwa Securities Group dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $687.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $930.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Susquehanna cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $650.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $820.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $811.24.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s advertising business is viewed as benefiting from improved ad performance, distribution scale and the company’s ability to monetize its large user base. Strong ad growth could support the bullish case if management also demonstrates disciplined spending. Accelerating Ad Business and Distribution Scale Create Compelling Value at Meta Platforms
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s earnings report is being treated as an important test of investor confidence in the AI trade after a sell-off in semiconductor and other AI-related stocks. Evidence that AI investments are driving advertising, engagement or new products could improve sentiment across the sector. Week Ahead: Meta, Tesla Earnings to Test AI Trade
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is considered relatively attractively valued versus some social-media peers, including Reddit, but the stock’s premium valuation leaves limited room for an earnings miss. Are You Overpaying for Reddit Stock Versus Its Rivals?
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta’s planned large AI data center in Louisiana could support long-term computing capacity and local hiring, although the project also underscores the company’s substantial capital-expenditure requirements. Louisiana Residents Are Training for Jobs at Meta’s Largest-Ever AI Data Center
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts are highlighting elevated capital expenditures, potential margin pressure and a demanding valuation as key risks ahead of earnings. Any indication that AI spending is accelerating faster than monetization could weigh on the shares. Should You Buy, Sell, or Hold META Stock Before Q3 Earnings Release?
• Negative Sentiment: Meta apologized after suspending the “No Kings” Instagram account, creating a limited reputational and content-moderation overhang. Separately, scrutiny of always-listening AI wearables raises longer-term privacy and legal risks for Meta’s device strategy. Meta Apologizes After Suspending “No Kings” Instagram Account

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.5%

META opened at $705.44 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $657.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $627.42. 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 market cap of $1.80 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.19. 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 quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $7.14 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st were paid a $0.5250 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 is 7.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total value of $21,359,386.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of 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 position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 148,331 shares of company stock worth $101,233,569 over the last three months. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

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.