Goodman Financial Corp Purchases 9,191 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Goodman Financial Corp increased its Meta Platforms stake by 89.8% in the first quarter, buying 9,191 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 19,429 shares worth about $11.1 million.
• Institutional interest in Meta remains strong, with several funds increasing positions and 79.91% of the stock now owned by hedge funds and other institutions.
• Wall Street sentiment is still broadly positive: Meta has a Moderate Buy consensus rating, though insiders have been selling shares and the company faces ongoing questions about heavy AI spending and related risks.

Goodman Financial Corp raised its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 89.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,429 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,191 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 1.9% of Goodman Financial Corp's holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Goodman Financial Corp's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $11,116,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Jag Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 33.4% during the 1st quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 62,273 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $35,628,000 after purchasing an additional 15,595 shares during the period. Avalon Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 22.4% in the 1st quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 497 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $284,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 797,714 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $462,060,000 after purchasing an additional 26,562 shares in the last quarter. One Day In July LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 4.3% in the first quarter. One Day In July LLC now owns 1,692 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $968,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frisch Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,320 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $3,616,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Erste Group Bank upgraded Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Wedbush assumed coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 16th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $671.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $725.00 target price (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities restated a "buy" rating and issued a $1,015.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $835.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the chief operating officer owned 9,498 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,708,013.06. This trade represents a 26.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.75, for a total value of $303,875.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,443 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,092,483.25. The trade was a 12.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 37,948 shares of company stock worth $23,184,319 in the last ninety days. 13.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $643.81 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month high of $796.25. The stock has a market cap of $1.63 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $604.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $626.52. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. The business had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The business's revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.43 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.63%.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target on Meta and kept an overweight rating, signaling expectations for meaningful upside from current levels. Benzinga report on Wells Fargo target hike
• Positive Sentiment: Rothschild & Co Redburn also boosted its target and reiterated a buy rating, reflecting growing optimism that Meta can monetize AI more effectively. Benzinga report on Rothschild & Co Redburn target hike
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports highlighted Meta’s expanding AI strategy, including possible cloud/compute sales and large enterprise deals, which could create a new revenue stream and support margins over time.
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America said Meta is positioned to beat second-quarter expectations, citing healthy ad demand and AI-driven improvements ahead of earnings later this month.
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street commentary continues to frame Meta as a key beneficiary of the AI spending boom, with investors watching whether infrastructure investment can be monetized faster than expected.
• Neutral Sentiment: A comparison piece versus Pinterest and a broader “Mag 7” article mainly added background, but did not change the core investment thesis for META.
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is facing a Tennessee trial over claims that Instagram was designed to be addictive and contributed to youth mental-health issues, adding legal and regulatory risk.
• Negative Sentiment: A New York Times report said Meta’s AI moderation mistakenly banned user accounts, raising questions about product reliability and trust in its automated systems.
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing investor concerns remain around heavy AI spending, data-center financing, and whether returns on that capital will justify the expense.

About Meta Platforms

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.

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