Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stock Bought by Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 364,682 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,185 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.8% of Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $264,460,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 3,510,123 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.6% in the first 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. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 12,836,063 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $7,230,426,000 after buying an additional 162,909 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in Meta Platforms by 18.1% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 11,858,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $6,784,873,000 after buying an additional 1,815,017 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Meta Platforms by 4.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,429,812 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,964,745,000 after buying an additional 404,948 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on META. Moffett Nathanson dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $740.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Yorkville Ives began coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $900.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $1,000.00 to $995.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Pivotal Research raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $930.00 to $960.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $886.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $833.12.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $642.62 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $779.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.64 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $664.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $629.72.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The social networking company reported $7.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.86. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 30.73% and a net margin of 31.15%. The firm had revenue of $64.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $7.25 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 7.91%.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Strong Q3 operating performance: Meta reported $64.6 billion in revenue, up 26% year over year, and adjusted earnings of $7.40 per share versus expectations of roughly $6.54. AI-driven recommendations and advertising tools are improving engagement, ad pricing and conversions. META Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Muse adoption supports the AI thesis: Meta’s Muse AI agent has surpassed 10 million downloads, strengthening the case that the company could eventually monetize AI through subscriptions, enterprise services and additional advertising. However, meaningful revenue contribution is expected later, potentially from 2027 onward. Meta Muse Adoption
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly constructive: UBS, Citigroup, Mizuho, JPMorgan, Bank of America and other firms raised or reaffirmed bullish ratings and price targets, citing resilient advertising growth and long-term AI potential. Some investors, including commentator Mike Khouw, view the selloff as a buying opportunity. Why Mike Khouw Is Buying Meta
• Neutral Sentiment: New Class C shares and a 2-for-1 split: Meta plans to issue one non-voting Class C share for each Class A and Class B share. The move should improve trading liquidity and give Mark Zuckerberg greater flexibility to sell shares or finance AI investment without surrendering voting control, but it does not by itself create economic value for shareholders. Meta’s New Non-Voting Shares
• Neutral Sentiment: Commercial terms delayed: Meta postponed controversial terms that publishers and advertisers said could authorize broader web scraping, moving implementation to November 20 from October 30. The delay may reduce near-term friction, though the underlying regulatory and customer concerns remain. Meta Delays Commercial Terms
• Negative Sentiment: AI spending is the main pressure: Meta lifted the lower end of its 2026 capital-expenditure forecast to $135 billion, with spending potentially reaching $145 billion. Free cash flow turned negative as infrastructure investment accelerated, while credit-default-swap costs reached records. Investors are questioning when Muse and other AI projects will generate returns. Meta AI Spending and Free Cash Flow
• Negative Sentiment: Legal and regulatory risks remain significant: Meta faces a $25 billion New Mexico privacy judgment, additional lawsuits alleging harm to children and scam advertising, and rising legal costs. The company plans to appeal the New Mexico ruling, but the liabilities add uncertainty and pressure margins. Meta New Mexico Privacy Judgment

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total transaction of $21,359,386.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Christopher Cox sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 21st. The shares were 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 trade represents a 17.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 have sold 149,906 shares of company stock worth $102,347,409 in the last three months. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

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.