300,000 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Acquired by Darsana Capital Partners LP

Key Points

• Darsana Capital Partners acquired 300,000 Meta shares worth approximately $169 million, making Meta its 14th-largest holding; institutional investors collectively own 79.91% of the stock.
• Meta’s latest quarterly revenue rose 28% year over year to $60.8 billion, exceeding estimates, but earnings of $6.18 per share missed the $7.19 consensus forecast. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $787.86, although recent insider sales and substantial AI investment remain areas of investor attention.

Darsana Capital Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 300,000 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $168,987,000. Meta Platforms comprises about 0.8% of Darsana Capital Partners LP's holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. RHL Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Philadelphia Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Schuylkill Financial LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $750.42, for a total transaction of $709,897.32. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 8,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,621,706.08. The trade was a 9.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 40,000 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 184,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at $131,515,624.16. This trade represents 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 151,882 shares of company stock valued at $103,032,319. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $726.91 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week high of $779.82. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $620.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $614.49. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $1.85 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) 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 company had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $7.14 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.94 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st were paid a $0.5250 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 21st. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.91%.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is expanding its Muse AI agent to small businesses with integrations including Shopify, QuickBooks, Stripe, Canva, Slack and Dropbox. The move could diversify revenue beyond advertising and create opportunities in subscriptions, transaction fees and enterprise software. Meta expands Muse AI agent for small businesses
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to view Muse as a potential multibillion-dollar growth catalyst, citing early adoption, integration across Meta’s apps and possible commercial API and subscription revenue. AI tools are also expected to improve advertising engagement and conversions. Analysts align on Meta Muse as a growth catalyst
• Positive Sentiment: Strategists argue Meta could be relatively resilient if AI infrastructure spending slows because it is using AI to enhance an existing advertising business rather than relying solely on hardware sales. A reported $27 billion AI-capacity agreement with Nebius also underscores continued infrastructure investment. Nvidia AI capex and Meta
• Neutral Sentiment: COO Javier Olivan sold shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The transactions reduced his holdings, but scheduled sales generally provide a weaker signal than discretionary insider trading. SEC insider ownership filing
• Negative Sentiment: OpenAI launched Dots, an always-on AI agent positioned against Muse, raising concerns that Meta’s newest growth story could face powerful competition from OpenAI, Google and Apple. OpenAI follows Meta into personal agents
• Negative Sentiment: Reports alleging that Muse accessed private messages without permission have created privacy and reputational concerns, although Meta disputes the claims. Investors are also monitoring heavy AI and data-center spending, a recent quarterly EPS miss, and questions over whether the investment will generate sufficient returns. Meta disputes Muse privacy claim
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Mark Zuckerberg separately sold approximately $21.4 million of stock under a Rule 10b5-1 plan. While scheduled, the sale may add to short-term investor caution following the stock’s sharp rally. Mark Zuckerberg stock sale

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $770.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Phillip Securities upgraded Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and cut their target price for the company from $795.00 to $750.00 in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "buy" rating and set a $886.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Scotiabank restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $600.00 price target (down from $700.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $955.00 to $855.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $787.86.

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 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.

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