Archford Capital Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 135.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,934 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,260 shares during the quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,216,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. RHL Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Bayban grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Bayban now owns 70 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Insider Activity
In related news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $561.56, for a total transaction of $280,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,943 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,652,671.08. This trade represents a 14.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total transaction of $4,379,184.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 828 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $462,024. The trade was a 90.46% 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,502 shares of company stock valued at $22,603,485. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.
Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms
Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Meta launched Pocket in the United States, an AI-powered app that lets users create and share interactive games through prompts. The rollout could expand Meta’s consumer AI ecosystem and generate new engagement opportunities. Meta brings Pocket to US users
- Positive Sentiment: Meta also introduced a Mac version of Meta AI with system-wide dictation and screen-context capabilities. Separately, an analyst argued that the company’s substantial AI investments could unlock significant future revenue, supporting the long-term growth case. Meta AI launches Mac app
- Neutral Sentiment: Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth, CFO Susan Li and insider Curtis Mahoney disclosed stock sales totaling roughly $10.3 million. Each transaction was conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, reducing its significance as a discretionary signal of management’s outlook, although the clustered sales may draw investor attention. Meta insider transaction filing
- Negative Sentiment: A federal trial involving California and 28 other states is intensifying. Former Meta employee Arturo Béjar testified that certain safety tools were “designed to fail,” reinforcing allegations that Facebook and Instagram were deliberately made addictive and that risks to young users were inadequately addressed. A loss could bring large penalties, mandated product changes and potential pressure on engagement and advertising monetization. Former employee testifies about Meta safety tools
- Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that elevated AI infrastructure spending could weigh on second-half free cash flow, particularly after Meta’s recent earnings-per-share miss. The legal case, which some reports associate with potential liabilities reaching hundreds of billions of dollars or more, adds substantial downside risk to a stock already trading below its longer-term moving averages. Meta trial adds risk to stock
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities analysts have recently commented on META shares. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $840.00 to $770.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Phillip Securities upgraded Meta Platforms to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Barclays reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $780.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $835.00 to $640.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $785.32.
Get Our Latest Analysis on Meta Platforms
Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.0%
Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $545.83 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $593.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $615.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.39 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.56, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $790.80. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced 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). The firm had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $7.14 earnings per share. On average, research 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.91%.
Meta Platforms Profile
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Free Report)
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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