Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Purchases 7,182 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lifted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 938,148 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,182 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 3.3% of Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $680,326,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 105,292,277 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $69,502,379,000 after purchasing an additional 105,154,977 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 7,732,446 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth about $2,948,486,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 488.1% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,466,595 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,608,445,000 after acquiring an additional 4,537,076 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 3,510,123 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on META. Erste Group Bank upgraded Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. CICC Research reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $773.00 to $700.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $715.00 to $884.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. President Capital upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $660.00 to $897.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $687.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $803.39.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $728.10, for a total value of $688,782.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 6,932 shares in the company, valued at $5,047,189.20. This represents a 12.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $21,359,386.56. 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 149,797 shares of company stock worth $102,180,385 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.1%

META stock opened at $736.72 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $779.82. The company has a market capitalization of $1.88 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.19. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $653.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $625.27. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). The company had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%. The company’s revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $7.14 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors 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 yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 7.91%.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta released the open-weight Muse Spark Open model for coding and AI-agent tasks. The model can be downloaded and adapted by developers, broadening Meta’s reach in the AI ecosystem. Meta releases open-weight Muse Spark model for coding and agentic tasks
• Positive Sentiment: An Apple collaboration will enable developers to run Muse Spark Open locally on high-end Mac computers, potentially reducing reliance on cloud infrastructure and increasing model adoption. Apple and Meta team up to make Muse AI model run on Mac computers
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s Muse Wonder model scored 83.2% on an accounting AI benchmark, tying for second place and outperforming OpenAI and Google models in that test. Bank of America maintained a Buy rating and an $810 target, while Guggenheim raised its target to $850. Meta Is Back in the AI Race
• Positive Sentiment: Meta- and Google-backed Jio Platforms is preparing a major Indian IPO, which could provide visibility into the value of Meta’s strategic investment and partnership in the business. Meta- and Google-backed Jio Platforms IPO
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta has outperformed megacap peers and gained roughly 12% over the past month, increasing investor focus on whether the recent AI-driven rally can continue or whether some holders will take profits. Meta Just Climbed 12% in a Month
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that Meta’s more than $130 billion AI investment program is reducing free cash flow, while Reality Labs continues to generate large losses. A roughly $10 billion legal charge and uncertainty around 2027 capital spending could add pressure ahead of the company’s expected October 21 earnings report. Meta: The Muse Rally Has Priced In the Good News Before Q3
• Negative Sentiment: Seven Democratic senators are seeking an explanation for Meta’s claimed $6.6 billion in research tax credits related to AI data centers, creating potential tax and policy risks for Meta and other large technology companies. Senators Want to Know Why Meta Claimed $6.6 Billion in Research Tax Credits
• Negative Sentiment: Goldman Sachs reduced its price target to $762 because of rising operating expenses, though it retained a Buy rating. A COO’s disclosed sales were made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan and are therefore a limited signal of management sentiment.

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.