BlueCrest Capital Management Ltd Makes New Investment in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• BlueCrest Capital Management initiated a Meta Platforms position by purchasing 1,396 shares worth approximately $786,000. Other institutional investors also increased their holdings, with institutions and hedge funds collectively owning 79.91% of Meta’s stock.
• Wall Street remains broadly bullish: Meta has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $787.86, although some analysts recently lowered their targets. Shares opened at $726.91, near the upper end of their 52-week range.
• Meta reported 28% year-over-year revenue growth but missed quarterly EPS estimates, while paying a $0.525 quarterly dividend. The company is also investing heavily in AI, with potential growth from its Muse agent offset by competition, privacy concerns and substantial infrastructure costs.

BlueCrest Capital Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,396 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $786,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 18.6% in the second quarter. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd now owns 18,777 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $10,577,000 after purchasing an additional 2,939 shares during the last quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 33.6% during the second quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc now owns 3,031 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,707,000 after buying an additional 763 shares during the last quarter. William John Sempolinski acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth about $3,107,000. Sone Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 38.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sone Capital Management LLC now owns 16,059 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $9,046,000 after acquiring an additional 4,440 shares during the period. Finally, Lakewood Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 63.7% during the 2nd quarter. Lakewood Capital Management LP now owns 115,985 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $65,333,000 after acquiring an additional 45,130 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $860.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, September 24th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $725.00 price objective (down from $815.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, New Street Research reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $730.00 to $700.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $787.86.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $726.91 on Thursday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $620.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $614.49. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $1.85 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $779.82.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced 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). The business had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $7.14 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total value of $2,012,047.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 9,498 shares in the company, valued at $5,708,013.06. This trade represents a 26.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing 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. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total value of $4,379,184.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 828 shares in the company, valued at $462,024. The trade was a 90.46% decrease in their position. 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 151,882 shares of company stock worth $103,032,319. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is expanding its Muse AI agent to small businesses with integrations including Shopify, QuickBooks, Stripe, Canva, Slack and Dropbox. The move could diversify revenue beyond advertising and create opportunities in subscriptions, transaction fees and enterprise software. Meta expands Muse AI agent for small businesses
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to view Muse as a potential multibillion-dollar growth catalyst, citing early adoption, integration across Meta’s apps and possible commercial API and subscription revenue. AI tools are also expected to improve advertising engagement and conversions. Analysts align on Meta Muse as a growth catalyst
• Positive Sentiment: Strategists argue Meta could be relatively resilient if AI infrastructure spending slows because it is using AI to enhance an existing advertising business rather than relying solely on hardware sales. A reported $27 billion AI-capacity agreement with Nebius also underscores continued infrastructure investment. Nvidia AI capex and Meta
• Neutral Sentiment: COO Javier Olivan sold shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The transactions reduced his holdings, but scheduled sales generally provide a weaker signal than discretionary insider trading. SEC insider ownership filing
• Negative Sentiment: OpenAI launched Dots, an always-on AI agent positioned against Muse, raising concerns that Meta’s newest growth story could face powerful competition from OpenAI, Google and Apple. OpenAI follows Meta into personal agents
• Negative Sentiment: Reports alleging that Muse accessed private messages without permission have created privacy and reputational concerns, although Meta disputes the claims. Investors are also monitoring heavy AI and data-center spending, a recent quarterly EPS miss, and questions over whether the investment will generate sufficient returns. Meta disputes Muse privacy claim
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Mark Zuckerberg separately sold approximately $21.4 million of stock under a Rule 10b5-1 plan. While scheduled, the sale may add to short-term investor caution following the stock’s sharp rally. Mark Zuckerberg stock sale

About Meta Platforms

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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