General Partner Inc. Grows Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• General Partner Inc. increased its Meta stake by 48.9% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 4,776 shares valued at approximately $2.69 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.91% of Meta’s stock.
• Analysts maintain a broadly positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $796.95. Meta reported 28% year-over-year revenue growth, though quarterly earnings per share fell short of estimates.
• Meta’s AI product Muse, commerce integrations and smart-glasses strategy are supporting the growth narrative, but competitive, regulatory and valuation risks remain; insiders have also sold more than $80.8 million of shares over the past 90 days.

General Partner Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 48.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,776 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,568 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 1.5% of General Partner Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. General Partner Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,690,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,939 shares in the last quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 33.6% in the 2nd quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc now owns 3,031 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 763 shares in the last quarter. Sone Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 4,440 shares in the last quarter. Lakewood Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 63.7% in 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 period. Finally, Abbot Financial Management Inc. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 53.5% during the 2nd quarter. Abbot Financial Management Inc. now owns 2,845 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,603,000 after buying an additional 991 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the topic of several recent research reports. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $763.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $785.00 price objective (down from $800.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Monness Crespi & Hardt decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $890.00 to $730.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $800.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $796.95.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $744.10 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $1.90 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $763.90. 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 company's 50-day moving average price is $610.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $611.16.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate 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 was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $7.14 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.93 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 21st. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.91%.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Muse adoption is strengthening the AI growth narrative. Muse reportedly reached the top of Apple’s U.S. free-app rankings, with early downloads approaching 900,000. Investors are increasingly viewing the product as a potential consumer “killer app” and a new distribution channel for Meta’s AI capabilities. Meta's standoff with Amazon over Muse could be a sign of things to come
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised their expectations. KeyCorp lifted its price target to $900 from $780, while Cantor Fitzgerald raised its target to $860 from $680; both maintained overweight ratings. The upgrades reflect expectations that AI agents could become a significant third growth curve for Meta. KeyBanc Adjusts PT on Meta Platforms to $900
• Positive Sentiment: Commerce and hardware opportunities are expanding. Muse’s integration with Shopify’s Shop Pay could let users complete purchases through the agent, giving Meta a path to transaction-based monetization. Meta is also bringing Muse to smart glasses and advancing a broader hardware push ahead of Meta Connect. Meta is bringing its Muse AI agent to its glasses
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta Connect is a near-term catalyst. Investors are awaiting announcements on Muse, AI models, smart glasses and other devices that could clarify the company’s product roadmap and monetization strategy.
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive and regulatory risks remain. Amazon blocked Muse from accessing its site, while privacy and security concerns surrounding AI agents and camera-equipped glasses could limit adoption or invite additional scrutiny. Meta's New AI Agent Is an Instant Hit—and the Backlash Has Already Begun
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling and valuation create caution. COO Javier Olivan and Chief Product Officer Christopher Cox sold shares under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans. Technical analysts also warn that the recent rally increases the risk of a short-term pullback, even as the longer-term trend remains bullish.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $680.27, for a total value of $643,535.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,770 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,646,237.90. This represents a 8.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 3,240 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $618.06, for a total transaction of $2,002,514.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,271 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,875,854.26. This represents a 34.07% 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 123,333 shares of company stock worth $80,795,845 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

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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