Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stock Position Boosted by First Interstate Bank

First Interstate Bank grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 61.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 12,373 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 4,718 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 0.5% of First Interstate Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. First Interstate Bank’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $8,973,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in META. State Street Corp increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 92,033,963 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $51,841,811,000 after buying an additional 3,510,123 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 14.6% in the 1st 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 last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the 2nd 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 valued at $7,230,426,000 after buying an additional 162,909 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 18.1% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 11,858,972 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $6,784,873,000 after buying an additional 1,815,017 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $5,964,745,000 after acquiring an additional 404,948 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta settled a teen lawsuit alleging that Instagram and Facebook contributed to addiction, depression and eating disorders. Financial terms were not disclosed, but the agreement removes Meta from an upcoming Los Angeles trial and reduces near-term litigation uncertainty. Reuters settlement report
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s advertising fundamentals remain strong: recent coverage cited higher ad pricing, rising impressions, improved AI-driven ad conversions and strong engagement. Analysts also see meaningful upside, with one fair-value estimate raised from $813.65 to $848.38 per share. Meta fair value report
• Positive Sentiment: Meta expanded its relationship with Advanced Micro Devices, including a $1 billion equity investment and multi-generation chip co-design for Meta’s AI data centers. The deal may improve access to computing capacity and supplier diversification. AMD and Meta partnership report

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 3,240 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $618.06, for a total value of $2,002,514.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,875,854.26. This trade represents a 34.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total transaction of $28,510,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 184,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $131,515,624.16. This trade represents a 17.82% decrease in their position. 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 150,015 shares of company stock worth $102,464,300. 13.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on META. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. China Renaissance reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $700.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 31st. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $886.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $955.00 to $855.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $833.12.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $614.99 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.57 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.19. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $670.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $632.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $779.82.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The social networking company reported $7.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.86. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 31.15% and a return on equity of 30.73%. The company had revenue of $64.60 billion for 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 firm’s revenue was up 26.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.01 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

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.