Davidson Investment Advisors Buys 4,320 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Davidson Investment Advisors increased its Meta stake by 5.1%, purchasing 4,320 additional shares to own 89,113 shares valued at approximately $50.2 million. Meta now represents 2.1% of the firm’s portfolio, while institutional investors collectively own 79.91% of the stock.
• Meta’s AI assistant Muse is generating investor enthusiasm through rapid user adoption and potential partnerships with Shopify, although Amazon’s decision to block Muse highlights platform, privacy and security risks.
• Meta shares opened at $741.24, up 11.3%, and analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with a $792.68 price target. However, insiders have sold $51.2 million of stock over the past three months, and the company recently missed quarterly EPS estimates despite 28% year-over-year revenue growth.

Davidson Investment Advisors increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 89,113 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,320 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 2.1% of Davidson Investment Advisors' holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Davidson Investment Advisors' holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $50,197,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of META. RHL Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Niles Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Philadelphia Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Muse is gaining rapid user adoption. Muse reportedly surpassed ChatGPT in early U.S. iOS downloads, with approximately 730,000 downloads in its first five days and stronger first-12-day performance than ChatGPT’s mobile launch. The traction is strengthening expectations that Meta can monetize AI through advertising, subscriptions and commerce. Meta Muse downloads article
• Positive Sentiment: Partnerships support a broader AI platform strategy. Shopify plans to let Muse complete purchases across its merchant network, while reports also cited interest from services such as Stripe. These integrations could increase Muse’s usefulness and create future transaction or platform revenue opportunities. Shopify Muse checkout article
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst optimism added momentum. Wells Fargo raised its Meta price target to $796 from $640 and maintained an Overweight rating, citing Muse’s early traction, recent model launches and the upcoming Connect conference. Wells Fargo price target article
• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure investments are being viewed as strategic growth spending. Meta’s planned Alberta data center and reported high-capacity subsea network reinforce its commitment to supporting AI workloads, although the investments could raise near-term costs.
• Neutral Sentiment: Connect is a near-term catalyst. Traders expect potentially significant volatility around Meta’s annual event, where the company may provide updates on Muse, AI models, hardware and monetization plans. Meta Connect trading expectations article
• Negative Sentiment: Amazon blocked Muse from shopping on its website, citing unauthorized access, security and credential concerns. The dispute highlights regulatory, privacy and platform-integration risks that could limit agentic-commerce adoption. Amazon blocks Muse article

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total value of $4,379,184.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $462,024. This trade represents a 90.46% decrease in their position. 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, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total value of $2,012,047.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,708,013.06. The trade was a 26.06% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 81,758 shares of company stock valued at $51,214,020 over the last three months. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. KeyCorp lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $780.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $763.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. DA Davidson decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $700.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $886.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $792.68.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 11.3%

Shares of META opened at $741.24 on Tuesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $520.26 and a 52-week high of $785.73. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $608.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $610.09. The company has a market capitalization of $1.89 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $7.14 earnings per share. Meta Platforms's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.93 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

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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