Advisors Capital Management LLC Buys 4,502 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 6.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 80,008 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,502 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $45,068,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cannon Wealth Management Services LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 20.1% during the second quarter. Cannon Wealth Management Services LLC now owns 966 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $544,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Altman Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.3% in the 2nd quarter. Altman Advisors Inc. now owns 8,256 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $4,651,000 after buying an additional 1,031 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 46.5% in the 2nd quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 108,485 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $61,108,000 after buying an additional 34,453 shares during the last quarter. Pasadena Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 7.9% in the 2nd quarter. Pasadena Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,698 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $956,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 16.6% during the 2nd quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. now owns 4,220 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $2,377,000 after acquiring an additional 602 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total transaction of $4,379,184.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 828 shares of the company's stock, valued at $462,024. This trade represents a 90.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total transaction of $2,012,047.56. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 9,498 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,708,013.06. This trade represents a 26.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 60,183 shares of company stock valued at $36,673,495 in the last ninety days. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 2.7%

Meta Platforms stock opened at $665.60 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.70 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $602.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $608.92. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $790.80.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.The firm had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $7.14 EPS. The company's revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st will be issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 21st. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.91%.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI strategy is boosting investor confidence. Goldman Sachs reiterated its bullish view, citing the rollout of Meta’s Muse AI agent and a recent legal settlement as potential catalysts. Analysts also argue that Meta’s valuation remains attractive relative to its growth, with one estimate assigning an $817 price target. Why is Meta stock gaining in premarket today
• Positive Sentiment: Advertising momentum supports earnings expectations. A bullish analysis highlighted second-quarter ad impressions growth of 14% and a 12% increase in average ad prices. Meta’s forward PEG ratio was also described as below both the sector median and its five-year average, suggesting investors may still view the stock as reasonably valued despite its recent rally. Meta Platforms: AI Spending Is Starting To Pay Off
• Positive Sentiment: Meta is benefiting from a shift in AI sentiment. Shares of Meta and Alphabet gained while AI-chip stocks weakened after several AI executives called for a slower approach to developing frontier models. Investors may be favoring Meta because its large user base and advertising business provide diversified ways to monetize AI. Why Google and Meta Stocks Are the Big Winners From the Latest AI Concerns
• Neutral Sentiment: AI investment is creating both opportunity and financial risk. AI-related debt issuance has surged, and Meta is viewed as better positioned than highly leveraged infrastructure providers because of its stronger cash generation. Nevertheless, the scale of data-center spending could pressure free cash flow and increase execution risk. AI-Related Debt Sales Are Near $500 Billion
• Negative Sentiment: Meta faces a proposed class-action lawsuit over smart-glasses privacy. Parents and children in California and Illinois allege that the company’s unreleased “NameTag” facial-recognition feature improperly used Facebook and Instagram data. The case could create legal costs, regulatory scrutiny and reputational damage if the allegations gain traction. Meta Faces Lawsuit Over Smart Glasses Facial Recognition
• Negative Sentiment: Content-moderation and insider-selling headlines add caution. Meta’s Oversight Board urged it not to replace professional fact-checking with Community Notes, while a reported insider stock sale worth about $13 million may weigh modestly on sentiment. These developments raise governance and reputational concerns, although neither necessarily changes Meta’s underlying operating outlook. Oversight Board asks Meta not to replace fact-checking with Community Notes

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on META. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $780.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $800.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Benchmark reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Arete Research set a $735.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $890.00 to $730.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $788.88.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc develops technologies that help people connect, communicate and build communities online. The company's principal products include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and digital communication.

Meta generates most of its business through advertising displayed across its family of apps. It also develops artificial intelligence technologies, business messaging tools and hardware and software through its Reality Labs division, including Quest virtual- and mixed-reality devices and related experiences.

The company was founded as Facebook in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg and was renamed Meta Platforms in 2021 to reflect its broader focus on building the metaverse.

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