Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Skylands Capital LLC

Skylands Capital LLC trimmed its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 28.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 7,035 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 2,830 shares during the period. Skylands Capital LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $5,102,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Watchman Group Inc. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Watchman Group Inc. now owns 5,091 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,913,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Penney Financial LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Penney Financial LLC now owns 399 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $869,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Value Partners Investments Inc. lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 866 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $630,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.9%

Meta Platforms stock opened at $630.56 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.61 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.19. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week high of $779.82. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $664.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $632.84.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The social networking company reported $7.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.86. The business had revenue of $64.60 billion during 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 30.73%. The company’s revenue was up 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $7.25 EPS. Analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 7.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on META. Monness Crespi & Hardt reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $875.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday. Susquehanna increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $700.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $800.00 price objective (down from $850.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $833.12.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 transaction of $28,510,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 184,516 shares in the company, valued at $131,515,624.16. This represents a 17.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,196 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total transaction of $5,063,409.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at $7,260,343.46. This represents a 41.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 148,440 shares of company stock valued at $101,456,300 in the last three months. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta plans to invest heavily in AI infrastructure, proprietary models, personal “superintelligence,” AI assistants such as Muse, and smart glasses. Analysts say the spending could accelerate new product launches and create additional monetization opportunities. Meta’s $95 Billion AI Push Could Accelerate New Product Launches
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts remain bullish, citing Meta’s strong advertising business, user engagement, international revenue growth and relatively low valuation. The company recently reported quarterly revenue of $64.6 billion, up 26% year over year, while earnings exceeded expectations. Analysts Stand by Meta’s AI Push
• Positive Sentiment: Investors could eventually benefit if AI improves ad targeting, engagement and new product revenue. Some research argues that Meta’s core Family of Apps business remains attractively valued despite current AI and Reality Labs losses. Meta Platforms: Muse May Be Metaverse 2.0
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta announced approximately $35 billion of equity offerings and plans to raise as much as $95 billion overall, including up to $60 billion through an at-the-market program involving new nonvoting Class C shares. The proceeds are intended to fund AI infrastructure and long-term growth. Meta Announces $95 Billion Stock Offering
• Neutral Sentiment: The financing plan includes a new share class and a mandatory convertible preferred offering that could carry a 6%–6.5% dividend yield, changing Meta’s capital structure while limiting immediate cash funding needs. The New Meta Convertible Stock Offering
• Negative Sentiment: The planned stock issuance creates dilution risk and signals that Meta’s AI buildout will require substantial external capital. Investors are also concerned that aggressive spending could compress margins and weaken free cash flow before AI investments generate returns.
• Negative Sentiment: Meta’s elevated capital-expenditure outlook, combined with a reported $9.89 billion legal charge, has intensified concerns about near-term earnings quality, cash flow and execution risk. Meta Q3 Legal Charge and Capital Expenditures

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.