S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC Purchases 1,294 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 5.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,200 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,294 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up 4.1% of S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $17,549,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of META. Watchman Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Watchman Group Inc. now owns 5,091 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,913,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Penney Financial LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 1.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the first quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC now owns 985 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $564,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tenzing Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the second quarter. Tenzing Financial LLC now owns 1,210 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $726,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target on Meta to $1,000 from $796 and maintained an Overweight rating, citing investor enthusiasm for the Muse product cycle. The target is bullish, although the analyst reportedly expects a difficult period before that valuation becomes achievable. Why this analyst expects Meta stock to hit $1,000
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s Muse AI assistant is topping app-download charts, providing evidence of strong initial consumer interest and potential long-term opportunities in advertising, commerce and paid AI services. However, sustained daily usage and a profitable business model are not yet proven. Meta’s Muse assistant tops app charts
• Positive Sentiment: Meta and Sierra are developing the Personal Agent Protocol with Shopify, Stripe, Walmart and other partners. An open standard could help Meta establish Muse as a platform for AI-driven shopping and customer service. Meta and Sierra launch protocol for AI agents
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with 44 of 57 covering firms rating Meta a Buy and the consensus recommendation listed as “Moderate Buy.” Meta receives Moderate Buy consensus
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is testing a Reels-first Facebook experience in India, potentially increasing video engagement and monetization, though the financial impact remains uncertain. Facebook tests Reels-first experience in India
• Negative Sentiment: New Mexico could seek a penalty of up to $40 billion in an ongoing case, creating a significant legal overhang ahead of an expected ruling this month. New Mexico seeks up to $40 billion from Meta
• Negative Sentiment: Higher interest rates above 5% can pressure richly valued technology stocks by raising discount rates and reducing investor appetite for long-duration growth stories. Meta’s recent run also increases the risk of profit-taking.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 3,240 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $618.06, for a total transaction of $2,002,514.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,271 shares in the company, valued at $3,875,854.26. This represents a 34.07% decrease in their position. The sale 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, insider Christopher Cox sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 184,516 shares in the company, valued at $131,515,624.16. This represents a 17.82% 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 146,647 shares of company stock worth $99,886,901. 13.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on META. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $730.00 to $830.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $800.00 price target (down from $850.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $770.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Citizens Jmp raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $885.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $791.86.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.9%

NASDAQ:META traded down $13.89 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $724.99. The stock had a trading volume of 7,066,663 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,450,447. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The company has a market capitalization of $1.85 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $631.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $617.69.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted 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). Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The firm had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $7.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.94 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st were issued a $0.5250 dividend. 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 7.91%.

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 operates a global family of apps that includes Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads, enabling users to connect, communicate, share content and discover communities.

Meta generates most of its business through digital advertising displayed across its platforms. Its products serve individuals, creators, businesses and organizations in markets around the world, while its advertising tools help businesses reach audiences based on factors such as interests, activity and demographics.

Through its Reality Labs division, Meta develops virtual and augmented reality hardware, software and services, including the Meta Quest line of headsets and related experiences.