Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Sells 864 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. reduced its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 157,498 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 864 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 2.8% of Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $114,214,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Watchman Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.3% in the first quarter. Watchman Group Inc. now owns 5,091 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,913,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Penney Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.9% in the first quarter. Penney Financial LLC now owns 399 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. grew its stake 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 valued at $874,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWS Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC now owns 985 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $564,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on META shares. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $700.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. DZ Bank reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Mizuho set a $750.00 target price on Meta Platforms and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $730.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Finally, CICC Research dropped their price target 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. Three investment 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $796.51.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total transaction of $21,359,386.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $728.08, for a total transaction of $688,763.68. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 7,878 shares in the company, valued at $5,735,814.24. This trade represents a 10.72% 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 148,222 shares of company stock worth $101,033,627 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta introduced Muse Wonder and Muse Wonder Full, frontier AI models designed for complex, multi-step personal and professional tasks. The launch supports the view that Meta is catching up with OpenAI and Anthropic while creating potential subscription and advertising opportunities. Meta Platforms Introduces AI Tools to Fine-Tune Facebook Algorithms
• Positive Sentiment: Third-party app data reportedly showed strong early retention for Meta’s standalone Muse assistant, helping ease concerns about slowing downloads and reinforcing expectations that the company’s AI investments can improve engagement and monetization. Why Meta Stock Is Up Today
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street support strengthened, with Truist assigning a $1,000 price target and KeyCorp and Rosenblatt reaffirming bullish ratings with targets of $900 and $886, respectively. Analysts cited Muse adoption and AI-driven advertising improvements as catalysts. Social Media Stocks Rally as Truist Sets $1,000 Meta Target
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s partnership with Virtuix expanded, with Omni One orders reportedly tripling year over year after becoming available for Meta Quest. The development provides modest support for demand across Meta’s virtual-reality ecosystem. Virtuix Deepens Meta Partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: Facebook is giving users more control over feed-ranking algorithms. The move may improve user trust and engagement, although greater personalization controls could affect content distribution and ad performance. Facebook Gives Users More Algorithm Control
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain cautious about Meta’s premium valuation and substantial AI spending, with planned capital expenditures reportedly reaching $130 billion to $145 billion. Third-quarter results, scheduled for October 21, will be important for validating AI monetization and revenue guidance. Meta Q3 Preview

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $762.50 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month high of $779.82. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $1.94 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $647.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $622.44.

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. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st were paid 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 payout ratio is presently 7.91%.

Meta Platforms Profile

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.