HS Management Partners LLC Has $14.31 Million Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• HS Management Partners trimmed its Meta position by 13.6% in the second quarter, selling 4,015 shares and retaining 25,409 shares valued at $14.31 million. Meta remains approximately 4.9% of the firm’s portfolio.
• Wall Street remains broadly bullish, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $787.54, despite several analysts recently lowering their targets.
• Meta reported second-quarter revenue of $60.8 billion, up 28% year over year, but earnings of $6.18 per share missed estimates. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, while investors continue to weigh AI growth opportunities against monetization, privacy and regulatory risks.

HS Management Partners LLC trimmed its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 13.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,409 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 4,015 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 4.9% of HS Management Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. HS Management Partners LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $14,313,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. RHL Group LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Advantage Trust Co purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of several recent research reports. Susquehanna dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $650.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $883.00 to $886.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $766.00 to $715.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $835.00 to $640.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $787.54.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of META stock opened at $648.03 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. The stock has a market cap of $1.65 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $790.80. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $601.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $608.94.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $7.14 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st will be issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 21st. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 7.91%.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Muse gains early consumer traction: Meta’s new AI agent reportedly reached No. 2 or No. 3 on the U.S. App Store shortly after its launch. Muse can interact with social platforms and outside services, while paid tiers priced at $20 and $100 per month create a potential new revenue stream beyond advertising. Meta's AI agent Muse is now the No. 2 app in the US
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan upgraded the stock: JPMorgan raised Meta to Overweight from Neutral and increased its price target to $820, citing meaningful growth potential from frontier AI models and agentic products. The upgrade helped reinforce the bullish view that Meta can diversify beyond advertising. JPMorgan upgrades Meta on AI models and agents
• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure optionality: Analysts believe Meta’s large AI-compute investments could eventually support a cloud-computing or infrastructure business, adding an opportunity not currently reflected in the valuation. The company’s strong revenue growth and substantial cash resources support this investment thesis.
• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly dividend declared: Meta announced a $0.525-per-share dividend payable September 28 to shareholders of record September 21. While the yield is modest, the payout signals confidence in ongoing cash generation.
• Neutral Sentiment: Legal settlement viewed as manageable: Commentary suggests Meta’s potential $18 billion social-media-addiction settlement, spread over a decade, may have a limited impact on annual free cash flow. Resolving the litigation could also remove an overhang, but the headline liability remains material.
• Negative Sentiment: Monetization and privacy concerns: Muse’s usefulness depends on access to users’ inboxes, accounts and payments, raising adoption and privacy questions. Analysts remain uncertain about conversion rates and near-term revenue.
• Negative Sentiment: AI execution and regulatory risks: A prominent AI researcher is leaving Meta for Anthropic, while an internal effort to capture employee screens for AI training reportedly triggered resistance. Meta is also discussing possible teen social-media restrictions in South Korea, and TikTok rejected Meta advertisements urging participation in a child-safety settlement.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Christopher Cox sold 20,000 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 244,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $159,003,864.48. This represents a 7.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total value of $4,379,184.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 828 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $462,024. The trade was a 90.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 61,581 shares of company stock valued at $37,512,295. 13.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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