Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Newly Purchased by Neumann Capital Management LLC

Neumann Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,399 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,015,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Iams Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Iams Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,327 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $4,590,000 after buying an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. NFSG Corp boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 17.9% in the 3rd quarter. NFSG Corp now owns 34,046 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $24,690,000 after buying an additional 5,170 shares during the last quarter. Detalus Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Detalus Advisors LLC now owns 567 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $411,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. SLT Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.2% in the third quarter. SLT Holdings LLC now owns 2,584 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,874,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whitener Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.4% in the third quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,022 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,642,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total transaction of $28,510,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 184,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $131,515,624.16. This represents a 17.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total value of $21,359,386.56. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 149,797 shares of company stock valued at $102,180,385 over the last ninety days. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America expects Meta to exceed third-quarter revenue expectations, forecasting $63.8 billion versus a $63.3 billion consensus estimate, and maintained a Buy rating with an $810 price target. Meta expected to beat revenue forecasts as AI boosts advertising, says Bank of America
• Positive Sentiment: Meta released the open-weight Muse Spark model for coding and AI-agent tasks, while its collaboration with Apple enables developers to run the model locally on high-end Mac computers. The developments could broaden adoption of Meta’s AI technology and reduce reliance on cloud infrastructure. Meta releases open-weight Muse Spark model
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan reaffirmed its Overweight rating and set a $920 price target, implying substantial upside, while other analysts including KeyCorp and Rosenblatt also maintained positive ratings. JPMorgan reaffirms Meta rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is expected to report third-quarter results on October 21. Investors will focus on advertising growth, user metrics, profitability, capital expenditures, and management’s outlook for AI infrastructure spending. Meta Q3 earnings estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta withdrew $25 million from a previously announced $65 million effort to support political candidates considered favorable to the AI industry. The move may reduce near-term spending but signals a change in its political strategy. Meta Withdraws $25 Million from Its Midterms Push
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst-related pressure is weighing on the stock after Goldman Sachs lowered its expectations and Meta was reported down following an analyst downgrade, countering the more bullish JPMorgan view. Meta stock price down on analyst downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that AI infrastructure spending could reach approximately $205 billion in 2027. Heavy capital expenditures are reducing free cash flow, while potential legal charges and regulatory scrutiny add to earnings risk. Meta AI spending could hit $205 billion
• Negative Sentiment: Seven U.S. senators are questioning Meta’s claim of $6.6 billion in research tax credits for AI data centers, creating potential tax liability and reputational risk. Senators question Meta AI data-center tax credits

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $785.00 to $875.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Citizens Jmp upped their price objective 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. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $780.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $808.88.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 3.7%

Shares of META stock opened at $709.33 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $655.78 and a 200-day moving average of $625.86. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $779.82. The firm has a market cap of $1.81 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.72, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.19.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%. The company had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $7.14 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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