Hamilton Wealth LLC Raises Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Hamilton Wealth LLC increased its Meta position by 198.8% in the first quarter, adding 43,733 shares to own 65,727 shares valued at $37.6 million. Meta now represents approximately 2.7% of the firm’s portfolio.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with Meta carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $789.95, despite several recent target reductions.
• Meta’s second-quarter revenue rose 28% year over year to $60.8 billion, but EPS of $6.18 missed estimates of $7.19. Insiders sold shares under pre-arranged trading plans, while investors continue to weigh strong advertising growth against rising AI spending and related execution risks.

Hamilton Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 198.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 65,727 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 43,733 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 2.7% of Hamilton Wealth LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Hamilton Wealth LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $37,604,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of META. RHL Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Bayban boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Bayban now owns 70 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Key Capital Management INC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $680.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $650.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Scotiabank restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $800.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $789.95.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total transaction of $1,268,023.68. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares in the company, valued at $681,890.56. This trade represents a 65.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total transaction of $4,769,642.01. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 414 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $251,641.62. This trade represents a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 39,325 shares of company stock valued at $23,979,087. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s core advertising business remains strong. Second-quarter revenue increased 28% year over year to $60.8 billion, while ad impressions, pricing, engagement and AI-powered recommendation tools continued to improve. Advantage+ advertising reportedly reached a $75 billion annualized run rate. Meta: Buy The AI Spending Panic
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts and investment commentators view the selloff as an opportunity, arguing that Meta’s advertising engine can fund its AI investments and that AI is already improving ad performance, personalization and user engagement. Meta also highlighted potential enterprise AI products, personal AI agents and new applications. Buy Meta’s Earnings Drop
• Positive Sentiment: Despite reductions, major firms retained bullish ratings and price targets, including UBS at $715, Baird at $750, Cantor Fitzgerald at $680 and Rosenblatt at $883. The targets imply substantial long-term upside if Meta converts AI spending into monetization. Meta Given New Price Target at Baird
• Neutral Sentiment: The earnings miss was partly affected by approximately $2.4 billion in legal charges and $1.2 billion in severance costs. Excluding these items, supporters argue that underlying profitability was healthier, but reported margins still declined.
• Negative Sentiment: Meta reported $6.18 in quarterly EPS, below expectations near $7.19, while free cash flow fell to only $784 million from $31.9 billion in operating cash flow as AI data-center capital expenditures surged. Investors remain unconvinced that the spending will generate adequate returns soon. Tech’s AI Buildout Has Ballooning Price Tag
• Negative Sentiment: Future AI-related lease obligations reached $279 billion, increasing concerns about balance-sheet commitments and execution risk. Additional legal and regulatory pressure includes a wrongful-death lawsuit alleging that social-media companies harmed minors, plus an Indian police case involving Meta’s India chief over Facebook posts depicting Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Meta’s AI Splurge Lays Bare Its Compute Conundrum

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META stock opened at $556.71 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $601.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $622.97. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $1.41 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.97, a PEG ratio of 0.90 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The company had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $60.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $7.14 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.63%.

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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