Eastern Bank Purchases 2,846 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Eastern Bank increased its Meta stake by 2%. The bank bought 2,846 additional shares, bringing its holdings to 143,920 shares valued at approximately $81.1 million; institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of Meta.
• Meta’s revenue growth remains strong, but AI spending is pressuring results. Quarterly revenue rose 28% year over year to $60.8 billion and exceeded estimates, while EPS of $6.18 missed expectations amid concerns over higher capital expenditures, weaker free cash flow and uncertain AI returns.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive but targets have been reduced. Meta has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $789.95, although several firms recently lowered their targets and some downgraded the stock to “Hold.”

Eastern Bank raised its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 2.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 143,920 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 2,846 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.2% of Eastern Bank's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Eastern Bank's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $81,069,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Trust Co of the South grew its position in Meta Platforms by 8.5% during the second quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 2,409 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,357,000 after buying an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. VectorGlobal IAG Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at $15,029,000. Ballast Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC now owns 3,934 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $2,251,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Pangea Capital Gestao de Recursos Ltda. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth about $2,861,000. Finally, Southern Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Southern Financial Group LLC now owns 982 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $562,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI spending narrative improves: Strong earnings from Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet and other cloud companies suggest enterprise AI demand remains robust, supporting the case for continued infrastructure investment and potentially greater monetization of Meta’s AI tools and recommendation systems. Amazon Just Flipped the AI Capex Narrative
• Positive Sentiment: Valuation attracts buyers: Multiple analyses describe Meta as inexpensive relative to its growth, citing a forward P/E near 17 and expectations for approximately 40% upside. Evercore’s Mark Mahaney reportedly named Meta a top large-cap idea with an $820 price target, while other analysts also maintain bullish views. Meta Named a Top Large-Cap Long Idea
• Positive Sentiment: Core advertising business remains strong: Recent coverage highlights rising revenue, ad impressions, ad prices and user engagement. Investors are encouraged that Meta’s AI investments may already be improving targeting, recommendations and advertising performance. Mark Zuckerberg Says He's Betting Big on AI Compute
• Positive Sentiment: Recent earnings showed substantial growth: Meta’s latest quarter produced $60.8 billion in revenue, up 28% year over year and above estimates. That growth, combined with a comparatively low valuation, is driving “buy-the-dip” recommendations. Is Meta Stock a Buy on the Dip?
• Neutral Sentiment: International exposure is a key variable: Investors are assessing Meta’s dependence on overseas revenue, including the stability of international advertising demand and currency-related risks. Meta International Revenues Trends
• Negative Sentiment: AI investment remains the main risk: Meta’s earnings miss and concerns about sharply higher capital expenditures, weaker free cash flow and the timing of returns caused the recent post-earnings pressure. Some analysts have also reduced price targets, including Bank of America to $810 and Monness Crespi & Hardt to $730. What's Going on With Meta Stock?

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Meta Platforms from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $680.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $835.00 to $810.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $789.95.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 6.0%

Meta Platforms stock opened at $590.24 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The company's 50-day moving average is $600.76 and its 200-day moving average is $622.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.49 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25.

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 analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $7.14 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 837 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.85, for a total value of $508,770.45. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 6,290 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,823,376.50. This represents a 11.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.75, for a total transaction of $303,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,443 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,092,483.25. The trade was a 12.68% 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 sold a total of 37,770 shares of company stock valued at $23,034,051 over the last 90 days. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

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.