NFSG Corp Acquires 5,170 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

NFSG Corp increased its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 17.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,046 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,170 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 2.6% of NFSG Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. NFSG Corp’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $24,690,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Philadelphia Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Horizons Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Schuylkill Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at about $36,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $750.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $700.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Evercore increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $860.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, CICC Research decreased 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 report on Friday, July 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $808.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $728.10, for a total transaction of $688,782.60. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 6,932 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,047,189.20. This represents a 12.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total value of $28,510,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 184,516 shares in the company, valued at $131,515,624.16. The trade was a 17.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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 90 days. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $709.33 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $1.81 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.19. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $655.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $625.86. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $779.82.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

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.