Headlands Technologies LLC Lowers Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Headlands Technologies LLC reduced its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 23.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,204 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 1,283 shares during the quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,368,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of META. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 105,154,977 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 52,806,712 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $34,734,628,000 after purchasing an additional 878,396 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $22,152,075,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 14.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 21,038,035 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $12,036,491,000 after buying an additional 2,673,494 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,200,469 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $12,013,948,000 after buying an additional 1,046,715 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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 Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $736.59 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $770.60. 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 business's fifty day moving average price is $609.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $610.57. The stock has a market capitalization 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.The firm had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $60.22 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $7.14 EPS. The company's revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.93 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.525 dividend. 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 payout ratio is currently 7.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Christopher Cox sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $650.28, for a total transaction of $13,005,600.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 244,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at $159,003,864.48. The trade was a 7.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 3,240 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $618.06, for a total value of $2,002,514.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,271 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,875,854.26. The trade was a 34.07% 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 sold 81,758 shares of company stock worth $51,214,020 in the last three months. Insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on META. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $785.00 target price (down from $800.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Scotiabank reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Mizuho set a $750.00 price objective on Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Benchmark restated a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $800.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $789.63.

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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