F&V Capital Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

F&V Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 5.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,222 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,427 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 3.1% of F&V Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. F&V Capital Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $17,024,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 105,154,977 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $22,152,075,000. Corient Private Wealth LP grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 723.1% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 8,801,764 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $4,957,946,000 after purchasing an additional 7,732,446 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,948,486,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 488.1% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,466,595 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $3,608,445,000 after purchasing an additional 4,537,076 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan Li sold 9,196 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total value of $5,063,409.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,260,343.46. This trade represents a 41.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Christopher Cox sold 20,000 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $675.23, for a total value of $13,504,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 224,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $151,599,938.68. The trade was a 8.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 81,758 shares of company stock valued at $51,214,020 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $750.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $796.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $800.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $810.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Benchmark reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $789.63.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $736.59 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $770.60. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $609.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $610.57. The company has a market cap of $1.88 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued 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). Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.The business had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $7.14 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Muse is gaining significant consumer traction. The agent reportedly surpassed ChatGPT’s early mobile download pace and can handle tasks such as shopping, travel bookings, email and financial-related services. Investors increasingly view Muse as a potential new revenue platform rather than simply another AI feature. Wall Street expects Meta's AI agent to shape into a new revenue engine
• Positive Sentiment: Commercial partnerships strengthen the monetization case. Shopify is integrating Shop Pay checkout with Muse, while PayPal is also expected to use the agent. These deals could help Meta capture value from AI-powered commerce and create a platform for outside developers and services. Shopify Brings Shop Pay Checkout Solution to Meta's Muse AI Agent
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised their targets. Jefferies increased its Meta price target to $875 from $710 and maintained a Buy rating, while Bank of America reaffirmed Buy with an $810 target. Analysts cited Muse’s early adoption and potential to add a new earnings stream. Jefferies Adjusts Price Target on Meta Platforms
• Positive Sentiment: The core advertising business remains supportive. Meta’s latest reported revenue increased 28% year over year to $60.8 billion, with stronger ad pricing helping offset slower impression growth. Investors are also looking ahead to additional AI announcements at Meta Connect.
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta continues to expand its AI infrastructure. Its planned Petal subsea cable and reported custom CPU work with Arm could improve long-term computing capacity and efficiency, but these projects require substantial capital and will not produce immediate revenue.
• Negative Sentiment: Execution and spending concerns remain. Meta’s recent EPS missed consensus despite revenue growth, while rising capital expenditures, debt and weaker cash-flow expectations could limit near-term upside after the stock’s large advance.
• Negative Sentiment: Amazon’s refusal to allow Muse shopping highlights platform friction. Meta is also testing human contractors to complete some Muse calls, raising questions about reliability, privacy, scalability and the cost of delivering the service. Meta testing a human concierge for Muse

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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