Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Aristotle Atlantic Partners reduced its Meta Platforms stake by 1%, selling 996 shares and retaining 101,812 shares valued at approximately $58.25 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.91% of Meta.
• Meta reported 28% year-over-year revenue growth to $60.8 billion but missed quarterly EPS estimates, posting $6.18 versus $7.19 expected. The company also raised its annual AI and data-center spending outlook to roughly $130 billion–$145 billion, increasing concerns about margins and free cash flow.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $835.64, despite Meta shares opening at $585.61 and trading below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages.

Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 1.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 101,812 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 996 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 2.7% of Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Aristotle Atlantic Partners LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $58,250,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dorsey Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the first quarter. Dorsey Asset Management LLC now owns 161,683 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $92,504,000 after purchasing an additional 1,233 shares during the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 59.1% during the first quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 94,910 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $54,301,000 after buying an additional 35,272 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 7.6% during the first quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 13,706 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $7,842,000 after buying an additional 964 shares during the last quarter. Unisphere Establishment raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 21.7% in the first quarter. Unisphere Establishment now owns 216,200 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $123,695,000 after buying an additional 38,600 shares during the period. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter worth approximately $14,537,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on META. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $800.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $767.00 to $835.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Erste Group Bank upgraded Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $725.00 target price (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an "overweight" rating on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $835.64.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $585.61 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $796.25. The firm's 50-day moving average is $603.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $624.24. The stock has a market cap of $1.48 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.29, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The business had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $7.14 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.63%.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter revenue rose 28% year over year to $60.8 billion, exceeding the $60.2 billion consensus estimate. Advertising revenue increased 27%, ad impressions grew 14%, and average price per ad rose 12%, indicating that Meta’s core advertising business remains robust. Meta stock sinks as Q2 earnings disappoint on multiple fronts
• Positive Sentiment: Meta said Reality Labs lost more than $4.6 billion, but the loss was narrower than analysts expected. The company also continues pursuing enterprise AI, including business agents for customer service and other workplace functions. Meta's Reality Labs lost over $4.6 billion in second quarter
• Positive Sentiment: A $14 billion El Paso data-center venture with BlackRock will help Meta secure approximately one gigawatt of AI capacity while sharing financing and balance-sheet risk. The structure could reduce the immediate burden of Meta’s infrastructure buildout, although Meta remains the facility’s primary tenant. Meta, BlackRock partner on $14 billion El Paso data center
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts remain bullish: Guggenheim reaffirmed a Buy rating with an $800 price target, while a Seeking Alpha analysis cited a normalized operating margin of roughly 36.8% after excluding legal and severance charges. Meta Platforms Q2: The Market Sells, I Buy The Dip
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta forecast third-quarter revenue of $61 billion to $64 billion, broadly around but slightly below the $63.2 billion consensus midpoint. No EPS outlook was provided in the reported guidance. Zuckerberg also promoted open AI development and opposed restrictions on Chinese AI models, positions that may support innovation but could attract regulatory scrutiny. Zuckerberg says Meta's enterprise AI opportunity extends beyond agents
• Negative Sentiment: Second-quarter EPS fell to $6.18, missing estimates near $7.1–$7.2 and declining from $7.14 a year earlier. Results were pressured by approximately $2.4 billion of legal costs and $1.2 billion of severance expenses. Meta misses profit expectations, sticks to massive AI spending
• Negative Sentiment: Meta plans to spend approximately $130 billion to $145 billion on AI and data-center infrastructure this year, with the minimum raised by $5 billion. Investors fear the spending will compress margins and free cash flow before a direct AI revenue stream is proven. Meta shares tumble as AI spending stuns Wall Street
• Negative Sentiment: COO Javier Olivan sold shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, reducing his holdings in two transactions. Because the sales were scheduled, they are a limited bearish signal but may reinforce investor caution. SEC insider transaction filing

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total value of $1,268,023.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at $681,890.56. The trade was a 65.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 directly owned 9,498 shares in the company, valued at $5,708,013.06. This trade represents a 26.06% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 39,325 shares of company stock valued at $23,979,087. 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding META? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report).

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