Baird Financial Group Inc. Purchases 33,196 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group increased its Meta Platforms position by 2% in the second quarter, purchasing 33,196 shares and ending with 1.70 million shares worth approximately $958.3 million. Meta represented 1.3% of Baird’s portfolio.
• Institutional investors own approximately 79.9% of Meta’s outstanding shares, with several firms increasing their positions during the quarter.
• Meta reported quarterly revenue of $60.8 billion, up 28% year over year and above estimates, although earnings per share missed expectations. Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $787.86.

Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,701,240 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 33,196 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up 1.3% of Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.07% of Meta Platforms worth $958,292,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.8% during the second quarter. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,066 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,727,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. XY Planning Network Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 66.6% during the 2nd quarter. XY Planning Network Inc. now owns 1,456 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $820,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares in the last quarter. Ramsay Stattman Vela & Price Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,122,000. Hudock Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. Hudock Inc. now owns 1,937 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,092,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the period. Finally, Connective Capital Management LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 62.8% in the 2nd quarter. Connective Capital Management LLC now owns 3,122 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,759,000 after buying an additional 1,204 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 3.3%

Shares of META stock opened at $739.43 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $520.26 and a 52-week high of $779.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $618.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $613.86. The company has a market capitalization of $1.88 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.85, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $7.14 EPS. Meta Platforms's quarterly revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st were issued a dividend of $0.5250 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 21st. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on META. Mizuho set a $750.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, Evercore raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $860.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $787.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $680.27, for a total value of $643,535.42. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 9,770 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,646,237.90. The trade was a 8.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total value of $21,359,386.56. 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 three months, insiders have sold 150,307 shares of company stock worth $101,851,357. 13.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta expanded Muse for Small Business, adding integrations with Shopify, QuickBooks, Stripe, Canva, Dropbox and Slack. The initiative could create subscription, transaction and enterprise-software revenue streams while reducing the company’s reliance on digital advertising. Meta expands Muse AI agent for small businesses
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted Muse’s rapid adoption and potential to become a multibillion-dollar growth catalyst. Its integration with Meta’s large Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp user base may support future subscriptions, commerce fees, advertising improvements and AI-api revenue. Beyond advertising: analysts align on Meta Muse
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s push into business AI was reinforced by its new Meta Enterprise Platform and the hiring of former MongoDB CEO Chirantan “CJ” Desai to lead the effort. The move signals an attempt to monetize substantial AI infrastructure spending through corporate customers. Meta launches enterprise AI platform
• Positive Sentiment: Monness Crespi & Hardt raised its META price target to $830 from $730 and maintained a Buy rating. Analysts also point to AI-driven increases in advertising engagement, clicks and conversions as evidence that current investments may strengthen Meta’s core business. Meta Platforms price target raised
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares for approximately $21.4 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. Because the sale was scheduled in advance, it is not necessarily a signal about the company’s outlook. Mark Zuckerberg sells Meta shares
• Negative Sentiment: OpenAI unveiled its always-on Dots agents, creating a direct competitive threat to Muse in consumer and enterprise AI. Reports that Muse exposed private information, including a user’s address, also raise privacy, safety, regulatory and reputational risks. OpenAI unveils Dots agents
• Negative Sentiment: Investors continue to weigh Meta’s sharply higher AI and data-center expenses against uncertain returns. The company also faces scrutiny over teen safety, data practices and potential regulation, which could increase costs or constrain monetization.

Meta Platforms Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc is a technology company that develops social networking, messaging, virtual and augmented reality, and artificial intelligence products. The company operates a global family of apps that includes Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads, enabling users to connect, communicate, share content and discover communities.

Meta generates most of its business through digital advertising displayed across its platforms. Its products serve individuals, creators, businesses and organizations in markets around the world, while its advertising tools help businesses reach audiences based on factors such as interests, activity and demographics.

Through its Reality Labs division, Meta develops virtual and augmented reality hardware, software and services, including the Meta Quest line of headsets and related experiences.

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