Black Cypress Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Black Cypress Capital Management trimmed its Meta stake by 3.5% in the second quarter, selling 936 shares and retaining 25,699 shares worth approximately $14.5 million. Meta remains the firm’s third-largest holding and represents 9.7% of its portfolio.
• Meta is attracting bullish attention for its AI strategy, including early traction for its Muse agent and potential future infrastructure opportunities. JPMorgan upgraded the stock to Overweight with an $820 price target, while analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $787.54 target.
• Insiders have sold 61,581 shares worth $37.5 million over the past 90 days, while Meta reported strong 28% year-over-year revenue growth but missed quarterly EPS estimates. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, equivalent to a 0.3% yield.

Black Cypress Capital Management LLC lessened its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 3.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,699 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 936 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 9.7% of Black Cypress Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Black Cypress Capital Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $14,476,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vista Capital Partners Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the second quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $794,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. Objective Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Objective Capital Management LLC now owns 553 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $365,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Watchman Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the first quarter. Watchman Group Inc. now owns 5,091 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $2,913,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Penney Financial LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.9% during the first quarter. Penney Financial LLC now owns 399 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.0% during the first quarter. Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $869,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $650.28, for a total value of $13,005,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 244,516 shares in the company, valued at $159,003,864.48. This trade represents a 7.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,838 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $616.71, for a total value of $1,750,222.98. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 11,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,192,072.02. This represents a 19.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 61,581 shares of company stock valued at $37,512,295. 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: Muse gains early consumer traction: Meta’s new AI agent reportedly reached No. 2 or No. 3 on the U.S. App Store shortly after its launch. Muse can interact with social platforms and outside services, while paid tiers priced at $20 and $100 per month create a potential new revenue stream beyond advertising. Meta's AI agent Muse is now the No. 2 app in the US
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan upgraded the stock: JPMorgan raised Meta to Overweight from Neutral and increased its price target to $820, citing meaningful growth potential from frontier AI models and agentic products. The upgrade helped reinforce the bullish view that Meta can diversify beyond advertising. JPMorgan upgrades Meta on AI models and agents
• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure optionality: Analysts believe Meta’s large AI-compute investments could eventually support a cloud-computing or infrastructure business, adding an opportunity not currently reflected in the valuation. The company’s strong revenue growth and substantial cash resources support this investment thesis.
• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly dividend declared: Meta announced a $0.525-per-share dividend payable September 28 to shareholders of record September 21. While the yield is modest, the payout signals confidence in ongoing cash generation.
• Neutral Sentiment: Legal settlement viewed as manageable: Commentary suggests Meta’s potential $18 billion social-media-addiction settlement, spread over a decade, may have a limited impact on annual free cash flow. Resolving the litigation could also remove an overhang, but the headline liability remains material.
• Negative Sentiment: Monetization and privacy concerns: Muse’s usefulness depends on access to users’ inboxes, accounts and payments, raising adoption and privacy questions. Analysts remain uncertain about conversion rates and near-term revenue.
• Negative Sentiment: AI execution and regulatory risks: A prominent AI researcher is leaving Meta for Anthropic, while an internal effort to capture employee screens for AI training reportedly triggered resistance. Meta is also discussing possible teen social-media restrictions in South Korea, and TikTok rejected Meta advertisements urging participation in a child-safety settlement.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.6%

META opened at $648.03 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $601.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $608.94. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $790.80. The company has a market cap of $1.65 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.25. 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 issued 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 firm had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $7.14 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on META. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $725.00 and set a "buy" 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 Thursday, August 27th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $650.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $787.54.

Meta Platforms Company 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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