AE Wealth Management LLC Has $220.04 Million Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 28.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 298,119 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 66,358 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.6% of AE Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. AE Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $220,042,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of META. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 237.5% in the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. WFA Asset Management Corp boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 42.6% during the second quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 67 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maseco LLP purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth $54,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $767.16, for a total transaction of $398,156.04. Following the transaction, the insider owned 30,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,682,229.20. The trade was a 1.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 6,875 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Saturday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.46, for a total value of $4,190,037.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 88,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,857,980.20. This represents a 7.22% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 28,424 shares of company stock valued at $18,868,377 in the last 90 days. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $597.69 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $479.80 and a one year high of $796.25. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $707.36 and a 200 day moving average of $706.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 1.98. The company has a market capitalization of $1.51 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.40, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.35% and a net margin of 30.89%.The company had revenue of $51.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.03 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Meta Platforms has set its Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 22nd were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 22nd. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 9.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $840.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Monness Crespi & Hardt dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $860.00 to $808.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $875.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $875.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $920.00 to $830.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $827.60.

Meta Platforms Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc engages in the development of products that enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality headsets, and wearables worldwide. It operates in two segments, Family of Apps and Reality Labs. The Family of Apps segment offers Facebook, which enables people to share, discuss, discover, and connect with interests; Instagram, a community for sharing photos, videos, and private messages, as well as feed, stories, reels, video, live, and shops; Messenger, a messaging application for people to connect with friends, family, communities, and businesses across platforms and devices through text, audio, and video calls; and WhatsApp, a messaging application that is used by people and businesses to communicate and transact privately.