Beacon Financial Advisory LLC Acquires 956 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Beacon Financial Advisory increased its Meta Platforms stake by 26.4% in the second quarter, purchasing 956 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 4,573 shares valued at approximately $2.39 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 79.91% of Meta’s stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains bullish: Meta has an average “Moderate Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $796.95, with several firms recently raising their targets or upgrading the stock.
• Meta reported quarterly revenue of $60.8 billion, up 28% year over year, but earnings per share of $6.18 missed the $7.19 consensus estimate. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, while insiders have sold more than $80.8 million of stock over the past 90 days.

Beacon Financial Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 26.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,573 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 956 shares during the quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,389,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 105,292,277 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $69,502,379,000 after purchasing an additional 105,154,977 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $22,152,075,000. Corient Private Wealth LP boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 723.1% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 8,801,764 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $4,957,946,000 after acquiring an additional 7,732,446 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,948,486,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 488.1% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,466,595 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $3,608,445,000 after acquiring an additional 4,537,076 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on META shares. Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $700.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Meta Platforms from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $640.00 to $820.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $785.00 target price (down from $800.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $796.95.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.0%

NASDAQ:META opened at $744.10 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market cap of $1.90 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $763.90. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $610.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $611.16.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). The business had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.Meta Platforms's quarterly revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $7.14 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 21st. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 828 shares in the company, valued at $462,024. The trade was a 90.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at 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 business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total transaction of $2,012,047.56. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 123,333 shares of company stock valued at $80,795,845. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Muse adoption is strengthening the AI growth narrative. Muse reportedly reached the top of Apple’s U.S. free-app rankings, with early downloads approaching 900,000. Investors are increasingly viewing the product as a potential consumer “killer app” and a new distribution channel for Meta’s AI capabilities. Meta's standoff with Amazon over Muse could be a sign of things to come
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised their expectations. KeyCorp lifted its price target to $900 from $780, while Cantor Fitzgerald raised its target to $860 from $680; both maintained overweight ratings. The upgrades reflect expectations that AI agents could become a significant third growth curve for Meta. KeyBanc Adjusts PT on Meta Platforms to $900
• Positive Sentiment: Commerce and hardware opportunities are expanding. Muse’s integration with Shopify’s Shop Pay could let users complete purchases through the agent, giving Meta a path to transaction-based monetization. Meta is also bringing Muse to smart glasses and advancing a broader hardware push ahead of Meta Connect. Meta is bringing its Muse AI agent to its glasses
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta Connect is a near-term catalyst. Investors are awaiting announcements on Muse, AI models, smart glasses and other devices that could clarify the company’s product roadmap and monetization strategy.
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive and regulatory risks remain. Amazon blocked Muse from accessing its site, while privacy and security concerns surrounding AI agents and camera-equipped glasses could limit adoption or invite additional scrutiny. Meta's New AI Agent Is an Instant Hit—and the Backlash Has Already Begun
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling and valuation create caution. COO Javier Olivan and Chief Product Officer Christopher Cox sold shares under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans. Technical analysts also warn that the recent rally increases the risk of a short-term pullback, even as the longer-term trend remains bullish.

Meta Platforms Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc develops technologies that help people connect, communicate and build communities online. The company's principal products include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and digital communication.

Meta generates most of its business through advertising displayed across its family of apps. It also develops artificial intelligence technologies, business messaging tools and hardware and software through its Reality Labs division, including Quest virtual- and mixed-reality devices and related experiences.

The company was founded as Facebook in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg and was renamed Meta Platforms in 2021 to reflect its broader focus on building the metaverse.

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