3,041 Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Pinnacle Bancorp Inc.

Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lessened its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 48.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,223 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 3,041 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,337,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of META. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 18.6% during the 2nd quarter. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd now owns 18,777 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $10,577,000 after purchasing an additional 2,939 shares in the last quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 33.6% in the 2nd quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc now owns 3,031 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,707,000 after buying an additional 763 shares in the last quarter. William John Sempolinski bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth $3,107,000. Sone Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 38.2% in the second quarter. Sone Capital Management LLC now owns 16,059 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $9,046,000 after buying an additional 4,440 shares during the period. Finally, Lakewood Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 63.7% in the second quarter. Lakewood Capital Management LP now owns 115,985 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $65,333,000 after buying an additional 45,130 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $630.56 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.61 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $664.68 and a 200-day moving average of $632.84. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $779.82.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The social networking company reported $7.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.86. The business had revenue of $64.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 30.73% and a net margin of 31.15%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $7.25 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st were given a $0.5250 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 21st. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on META shares. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $795.00 to $750.00 in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $875.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $833.12.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total value of $4,379,184.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $462,024. This trade represents a 90.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 24th. The stock was 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 have sold a total of 148,440 shares of company stock worth $101,456,300 over the last three months. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta plans to invest heavily in AI infrastructure, proprietary models, personal “superintelligence,” AI assistants such as Muse, and smart glasses. Analysts say the spending could accelerate new product launches and create additional monetization opportunities. Meta’s $95 Billion AI Push Could Accelerate New Product Launches
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts remain bullish, citing Meta’s strong advertising business, user engagement, international revenue growth and relatively low valuation. The company recently reported quarterly revenue of $64.6 billion, up 26% year over year, while earnings exceeded expectations. Analysts Stand by Meta’s AI Push
• Positive Sentiment: Investors could eventually benefit if AI improves ad targeting, engagement and new product revenue. Some research argues that Meta’s core Family of Apps business remains attractively valued despite current AI and Reality Labs losses. Meta Platforms: Muse May Be Metaverse 2.0
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta announced approximately $35 billion of equity offerings and plans to raise as much as $95 billion overall, including up to $60 billion through an at-the-market program involving new nonvoting Class C shares. The proceeds are intended to fund AI infrastructure and long-term growth. Meta Announces $95 Billion Stock Offering
• Neutral Sentiment: The financing plan includes a new share class and a mandatory convertible preferred offering that could carry a 6%–6.5% dividend yield, changing Meta’s capital structure while limiting immediate cash funding needs. The New Meta Convertible Stock Offering
• Negative Sentiment: The planned stock issuance creates dilution risk and signals that Meta’s AI buildout will require substantial external capital. Investors are also concerned that aggressive spending could compress margins and weaken free cash flow before AI investments generate returns.
• Negative Sentiment: Meta’s elevated capital-expenditure outlook, combined with a reported $9.89 billion legal charge, has intensified concerns about near-term earnings quality, cash flow and execution risk. Meta Q3 Legal Charge and Capital Expenditures

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’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.