Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Purchased by Signature Resources Capital Management LLC

Signature Resources Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 112.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,431 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 759 shares during the quarter. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,038,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in META. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 92,033,963 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $51,841,811,000 after acquiring an additional 3,510,123 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 14.6% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 21,038,035 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $12,036,491,000 after acquiring an additional 2,673,494 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 12,836,063 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $7,230,426,000 after purchasing an additional 162,909 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its position in Meta Platforms by 18.1% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 11,858,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,784,873,000 after purchasing an additional 1,815,017 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Meta Platforms by 4.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,429,812 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,964,745,000 after purchasing an additional 404,948 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s Muse AI companion reportedly reached 10.9 million U.S. downloads in its first 40 days, putting it among the fastest-growing mobile applications. The adoption supports the view that Meta can use its massive user base to build new advertising, commerce and AI-assistant revenue streams. Muse download article
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect higher advertising revenue, stronger AI-driven engagement and increased monetization across Meta’s applications to support the upcoming quarter. Rosenblatt reaffirmed a buy rating and set an $886 price target, implying substantial upside from recent levels. Zacks earnings preview
• Positive Sentiment: Some investors argue Meta is well positioned for the next phase of AI because its social-app ecosystem and roughly 3.5 billion users could protect advertising and commerce revenue as AI assistants become more common. Meta versus Alphabet AI analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Global affairs chief Joel Kaplan will leave Meta next year after 15 years. The leadership change may alter Meta’s political and regulatory strategy, although the company has not indicated an immediate operational impact. Reuters report on Joel Kaplan
• Negative Sentiment: The central near-term risk is Meta’s AI spending. Investors want evidence that surging infrastructure investment and potential funding needs will produce durable revenue growth without materially weakening margins or shareholder value. Reuters earnings preview
• Negative Sentiment: Shares have declined from their recent high as traders reduce risk before earnings and focus on whether the results and guidance can justify Meta’s premium valuation. The options market is also anticipating a sizable post-earnings move. Investopedia earnings volatility report
• Negative Sentiment: Broader concerns about an AI-stock sell-off, expensive data-center buildouts and possible equity financing are adding pressure to large technology companies, including Meta.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $694.25 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.77 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $659.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $628.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $779.82.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced 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). 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 revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $7.14 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st were issued a dividend of $0.5250 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 presently 7.91%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total value of $21,359,386.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 that occurred on 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 sale, the insider owned 184,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $131,515,624.16. This trade represents a 17.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 148,331 shares of company stock valued at $101,233,569. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on META. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $895.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $785.00 to $875.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Pivotal Research increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $930.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, China Renaissance cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $700.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $811.24.

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.