Baskin Financial Services Inc. Boosts Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Baskin Financial Services increased its Meta position by 34.4% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 53,073 shares valued at approximately $29.9 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 79.91% of Meta’s outstanding stock.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with Meta receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $785.32, despite several brokerages recently lowering their targets.
• Meta reported quarterly revenue of $60.8 billion, up 28% year over year, but earnings per share of $6.18 missed expectations. Investors continue to weigh strong advertising and AI prospects against significant AI infrastructure spending and related margin pressure.

Baskin Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 34.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,073 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 13,587 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 2.4% of Baskin Financial Services Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Baskin Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $29,895,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in META. RHL Group LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Bayban boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 100.0% in the first quarter. Bayban now owns 70 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on META. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $725.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. 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 report on Thursday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $750.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $890.00 to $730.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $785.32.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total value of $5,589,088.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,014,978.24. The trade was a 41.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $681,890.56. This represents a 65.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,407 shares of company stock valued at $23,391,097. 13.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Meta Platforms News

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 Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $578.85 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $596.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $621.07. The firm has a market cap of $1.47 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The business had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $60.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $7.14 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

About Meta Platforms

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.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source