Howland Capital Management LLC Sells 1,854 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Howland Capital Management reduced its Meta stake by 1.8%, selling 1,854 shares in the second quarter. The fund still held 99,202 shares worth approximately $55.9 million, representing 2.0% of its portfolio.
• Meta reported quarterly revenue of $60.8 billion, up 28% year over year, but earnings per share of $6.18 fell short of the $7.19 consensus estimate.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with Meta receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $785.32; however, several firms recently lowered their targets.

Howland Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 99,202 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 1,854 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 2.0% of Howland Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Howland Capital Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $55,880,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RHL Group LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth $36,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Bayban lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Bayban now owns 70 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 2.8%

Shares of META opened at $594.97 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $796.25. The stock's 50 day moving average is $596.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $620.62. The firm has a market cap of $1.52 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.41, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced 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). 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 in the previous year, the company earned $7.14 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.91%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at $681,890.56. This trade represents a 65.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total transaction of $4,769,642.01. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 414 shares of the company's stock, valued at $251,641.62. This represents a 94.99% decrease in their position. 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 36,280 shares of company stock valued at $22,075,696. Insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wedbush lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $671.00 to $595.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $725.00 price target (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $840.00 to $770.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $810.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, June 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $785.32.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Investors are viewing Meta’s roughly $145 billion AI infrastructure commitment as a potentially valuable long-term investment. The company’s data-center buildout and open-weight AI models could strengthen advertising performance, user engagement and future products. Meta and Nvidia plant “very firm flag” in open-weight AI race
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s rollout of a standalone Facebook Creator Studio app with AI-powered audience-growth and engagement tools may support creator activity and platform monetization. Facebook officially rolls out its standalone Creator Studio app with AI tools for creators
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to see substantial upside in META, with consensus price targets well above recent trading levels. The bullish view is supported by strong revenue growth and expectations that AI investments will reinforce Meta’s core advertising business. Meta remains a deeply discounted giant
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s partnership with the North America’s Building Trades Unions is intended to expand access to skilled workers for construction and maintenance of U.S. AI infrastructure, supporting execution of its ambitious capacity expansion. Meta taps skilled trades workers to power America’s AI infrastructure boom
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta removed approximately 756,000 suspected under-16 accounts in Australia—462,000 Instagram accounts and 294,000 Facebook accounts—as it responds to the country’s youth-social-media restrictions. The move demonstrates compliance but may increase moderation and enforcement costs. Meta says it has taken down 756,000 Australian teen accounts
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is defending itself in a major trial brought by 29 U.S. states alleging that Facebook and Instagram were designed to addict children. An adverse outcome could bring significant damages and require costly platform changes. Meta, 29 states head to court over youth social media litigation
• Negative Sentiment: AI spending is pressuring profitability and cash flow, while a German privacy complaint over Meta’s AI glasses adds regulatory risk to its wearable-AI strategy. German advocacy group lodges criminal complaint over Meta AI glasses
• Negative Sentiment: COO Javier Olivan’s recent sales under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, along with some institutional stake reductions, may weigh on sentiment, although the transactions do not necessarily indicate weaker fundamentals.

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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