Accredited Investors Inc. Buys 1,006 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Accredited Investors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 17.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,922 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,006 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,961,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. RHL Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Bayban increased its position in Meta Platforms by 100.0% during the first quarter. Bayban now owns 70 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple pieces highlighted Meta’s expanding AI strategy, including reports that it is building out custom chips and massive computing capacity, with some commentary suggesting Meta could even broaden into cloud services. That supports the view that META is investing aggressively to stay competitive in AI. How Meta Platforms (META) Is Strengthening Its AI Infrastructure With Custom Chips and Massive Computing Expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Several market articles argued that investors are still warming to Meta ahead of its next earnings report, pointing to strong ad growth, AI engagement, and continued long-term demand for its platforms. This is helping sentiment around the stock. Meta Platforms, Inc. (META) is Attracting Investor Attention: Here is What You Should Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta announced it will release second-quarter 2026 results on July 29, keeping attention on the upcoming earnings print. That event is adding anticipation, but it is not a direct operational surprise yet. Meta to Announce Second Quarter 2026 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Some analysts are debating valuation and capital spending, with concerns that heavy AI capex could pressure free cash flow even if revenue remains strong. That creates a valuation headwind, but it is still largely a longer-term debate. Meta Q2 Preview: CAPEX And Free Cash Flow In Focus
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is facing a new lawsuit from former employees alleging it used AI tools and workplace metrics to target workers on medical, parental, or other protected leave during layoffs. That raises legal and reputational risk for META. Meta used AI to target workers with medical conditions for layoffs, former employees' lawsuit claims

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Benchmark initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Arete Research set a $735.00 target price on Meta Platforms and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Mizuho dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $835.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Erste Group Bank raised Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $835.90.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 3.1%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $681.31 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $601.49 and a 200-day moving average of $626.86. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $520.26 and a 52-week high of $796.25. The stock has a market cap of $1.72 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.77, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The business had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.43 earnings per share. Meta Platforms's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.42 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is 7.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total value of $2,012,047.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,498 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,708,013.06. The trade was a 26.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing 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, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.75, for a total value of $303,875.00. Following the sale, the director owned 3,443 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,092,483.25. The trade was a 12.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 39,503 shares of company stock valued at $24,241,859 over the last 90 days. 13.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc NASDAQ: META, formerly Facebook, Inc, is a global technology company best known for building social networking services and immersive computing platforms. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company operates a family of consumer-facing products and services that connect users, creators and businesses. In October 2021 the company rebranded as Meta to reflect an expanded strategic focus on augmented and virtual reality technologies alongside its social media businesses.

Meta's core consumer products include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and community building across mobile and desktop devices.

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