Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC Sells 1,249 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors reduced its Meta Platforms stake by 1,249 shares, or 5.3%, leaving the firm with 22,398 shares valued at approximately $12.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.91% of Meta.
• Meta’s latest quarter delivered 28% year-over-year revenue growth to $60.8 billion, but earnings of $6.18 per share missed estimates of $7.19. The stock opened at $578.85, down 3.4%, while analysts maintained a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $785.32.
• Insiders sold 38,407 Meta shares worth about $23.4 million over the past 90 days, including sizable sales by executives Curtis J. Mahoney and Javier Olivan under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans.

Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 5.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 22,398 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 1,249 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 1.9% of Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $12,617,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of META. RHL Group LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Bayban increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 100.0% during the first quarter. Bayban now owns 70 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total transaction of $1,268,023.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 1,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $681,890.56. This represents a 65.03% decrease in their position. The sale 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 stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total value of $2,012,047.56. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 9,498 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,708,013.06. This 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,407 shares of company stock valued at $23,391,097. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $725.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Meta Platforms to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $785.00 price target (down from $800.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $700.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $785.32.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 3.4%

NASDAQ:META opened at $578.85 on Thursday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $596.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $621.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.47 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 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 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $7.14 EPS. The company's revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 7.91%.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta officially launched its standalone Facebook Creator Studio app for iOS, offering creators AI-generated growth advice and community-management tools. The rollout could support engagement, creator retention and future monetization. Facebook officially rolls out its standalone Creator Studio app with AI tools for creators
• Positive Sentiment: Meta and Nvidia released open-weight AI models as U.S. technology companies seek to compete with Chinese labs. Meta’s open-source strategy may accelerate adoption, improve its advertising products and challenge higher-cost AI rivals. Meta and Nvidia plant very firm flag in open-weight AI race
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts continue to cite Meta’s strong advertising business, AI-driven improvements in ad conversions and long-term AI optionality. The consensus price target remains substantially above the recent trading level, providing a potential valuation support. The Market Shaved 10% Off Meta Over a Month
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta’s planned acquisition of Chinese AI startup Manus is being unwound after regulatory pressure, with Manus returning to independent operations. The development limits Meta’s acquisition strategy but removes uncertainty surrounding the transaction. AI startup Manus to resume independent operations as deal with Meta unwinds
• Negative Sentiment: A German advocacy group filed a criminal complaint alleging that Meta’s AI smart glasses violate privacy laws. The complaint adds regulatory risk to Meta’s growing hardware and wearable-AI strategy. German advocacy group lodges criminal complaint over Meta AI glasses
• Negative Sentiment: Meta began trial proceedings against claims from 29 U.S. states that Facebook and Instagram were designed to be addictive to children. A loss could result in significant damages, platform changes and thousands of additional lawsuits. Meta, 29 states head to court in youth social media litigation
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that AI infrastructure spending of up to $145 billion in 2026 is compressing margins and free cash flow. Recent commentary also highlighted weaker technical momentum, leaving META more vulnerable to selling pressure. Meta Q2: Strong Growth, But The AI Bill Is Becoming Hard To Ignore

Meta Platforms 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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