Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Position Increased by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,385,243 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 45,057 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 1.5% of ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. ProShare Advisors LLC owned about 0.05% of Meta Platforms worth $1,004,551,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Corient Private Wealth LP grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 723.1% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 8,801,764 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $4,957,946,000 after acquiring an additional 7,732,446 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,948,486,000. State Street Corp grew its position in Meta Platforms by 4.0% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 92,033,963 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $51,841,811,000 after purchasing 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 1st 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 buying an additional 2,673,494 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 18.1% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 11,858,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $6,784,873,000 after buying an additional 1,815,017 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of Meta Platforms 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 link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 3,240 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $618.06, for a total value of $2,002,514.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 6,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,875,854.26. This trade represents a 34.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 151,090 shares of company stock worth $103,150,807. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched Spaces, a collaboration feature for its Muse AI agents, following the rollout of Muse Voice. The new offerings may help strengthen user engagement and expand Meta’s consumer AI ecosystem. Meta introduces Spaces
• Positive Sentiment: Recent earnings commentary points to AI supporting Meta’s advertising operations, reinforcing the potential for the company’s AI investments to generate revenue. Takeaways from recent earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta paused planned updates to its terms and is keeping existing rules in place. The move avoids an immediate policy change, though the underlying issues remain unresolved. Meta pauses planned terms updates
• Neutral Sentiment: Plans for new nonvoting Class C shares have been described as effectively creating a 2-for-1 split. A split changes the number of shares, but does not by itself change the company’s underlying value; the structure preserves Mark Zuckerberg’s voting control. Is Meta Platforms next for a stock split?
• Negative Sentiment: Meta and other platforms sued to block California restrictions on social-media features for users under 16. The case adds regulatory uncertainty and potential legal costs. Platforms sue over California teen social-media law
• Negative Sentiment: Meta warned that political backlash and possible limits on data-center construction could complicate its AI expansion. Its $15 billion senior-notes offering also highlights the scale of financing required for investment. Data-center expansion concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Reported ETF net selling and insider share sales may add short-term pressure, although the disclosed insider transaction was made under a pre-arranged trading plan. ETFs are net sellers of Meta Platforms

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $730.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $875.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $955.00 to $855.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $920.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $833.12.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of META stock traded up $5.07 on Friday, hitting $610.15. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 15,673,971 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,359,418. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week high of $779.82. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $674.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $632.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The social networking company reported $7.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.86. The company had revenue of $64.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 30.73% and a net margin of 31.15%. The firm’s revenue was up 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $7.25 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.01 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st were given a dividend of $0.5250 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 21st. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 7.16%.

About Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc is a global technology company that develops social networking, messaging, and digital communication products. Its services include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Threads, which connect people and help businesses reach audiences around the world.

The company also develops virtual and augmented reality products and technologies through its Reality Labs division, including Quest headsets and related software and services. Advertising is a central part of Meta’s business, with its platforms providing tools for businesses to promote products and services.

Founded in 2004 as Facebook by Mark Zuckerberg and fellow students, the company changed its name to Meta Platforms in 2021 to reflect its broader focus on building social technologies and immersive digital experiences.