Ieq Capital LLC Decreases Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Ieq Capital reduced its Meta Platforms position by 9.1% in the second quarter, selling 86,036 shares and retaining 856,435 shares valued at approximately $482.4 million.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive, with Meta receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $788.88, despite several analysts recently lowering their targets.
• Meta reported strong 28% year-over-year revenue growth but missed quarterly EPS estimates, while insiders sold about $36.7 million of stock over the past three months. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share.

Ieq Capital LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 856,435 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 86,036 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 2.2% of Ieq Capital LLC's holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Ieq Capital LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $482,421,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of META. RHL Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Bayban grew 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. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on META. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $780.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $800.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $763.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $788.88.

Insider Activity

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total transaction of $4,379,184.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 828 shares in the company, valued at $462,024. This trade represents a 90.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 20,000 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $650.28, for a total value of $13,005,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly 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. 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 60,183 shares of company stock worth $36,673,495. 13.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.7%

META opened at $670.24 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week high of $790.80. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.71 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.24, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.25. The company's 50 day moving average price is $603.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $609.04.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). The business had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The company's revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $7.14 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 21st. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.91%.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: New Meta One subscriptions could create recurring AI revenue. Meta introduced plans ranging from individual to creator and business tiers, priced from $2.99 to $499 per month, offering expanded access to AI image, video and editing tools across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Meta AI. The initiative gives investors a clearer path to monetizing AI beyond advertising. Reuters article on Meta One subscriptions
• Positive Sentiment: AI agents are being integrated into WhatsApp Business. Businesses will be able to use third-party AI agents to set up and manage customer messaging, potentially increasing WhatsApp’s commercial utility and supporting higher business adoption and revenue. TechCrunch article on WhatsApp Business AI agents
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains broadly favorable. Recent coverage highlights bullish views tied to Meta’s Muse AI platform, improving advertising performance and the company’s valuation relative to growth. One report says 55 analysts covering Meta have no sell ratings, while Goldman Sachs has identified further upside potential. Analyst coverage article
• Positive Sentiment: Meta reportedly plans camera-free smart glasses. The internally named Luna glasses could broaden Meta’s wearables strategy while addressing privacy concerns associated with cameras, although launch details remain unconfirmed. Reuters article on Meta’s camera-free smart glasses
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta said it will directly report child-safety cases to India’s cybercrime portal, a move that could improve regulatory cooperation but also underscores continuing scrutiny of its platforms. Article on Meta’s child-safety reporting in India
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and legal risks remain significant. California’s restrictions on certain youth-targeted advertising practices and a lawsuit involving alleged facial-recognition features in Meta’s smart glasses could increase legal costs and limit product functionality. Article on Meta’s regulatory risks
• Negative Sentiment: Investors continue to debate whether Meta’s aggressive AI infrastructure commitments will generate sufficient returns, particularly if interest rates remain elevated. A recent SEC filing also disclosed an insider sale worth approximately $13 million, which may weigh modestly on sentiment. Analysis of Meta’s AI spending

About Meta Platforms

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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