Junto Capital Management LP Purchases 56,537 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Junto Capital Management doubled its Meta position in the second quarter, purchasing 56,537 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 110,841 shares valued at approximately $62.4 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.91% of Meta’s stock.
• Meta reported quarterly revenue of $60.8 billion, up 28% year over year, but earnings per share of $6.18 missed analysts’ $7.19 consensus estimate. Analysts remain broadly bullish, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $787.86.
• Executives Mark Zuckerberg and Javier Olivan sold shares through pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, while investors weigh Meta’s AI expansion—including the Muse agent—against competition, privacy concerns and substantial infrastructure spending.

Junto Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 104.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 110,841 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 56,537 shares during the quarter. Junto Capital Management LP's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $62,436,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% in 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 lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 52,806,712 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $34,734,628,000 after acquiring an additional 878,396 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $22,152,075,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 14.6% in the first 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 acquiring an additional 2,673,494 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,200,469 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $12,013,948,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046,715 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $750.42, for a total transaction of $709,897.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 8,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,621,706.08. This trade represents a 9.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total transaction of $21,359,386.56. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 151,882 shares of company stock valued at $103,032,319. Insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $726.91 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.85 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $779.82. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $620.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $614.49. 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 (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.The company had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $7.14 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.94 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st were issued a $0.5250 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 21st. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is 7.91%.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is expanding its Muse AI agent to small businesses with integrations including Shopify, QuickBooks, Stripe, Canva, Slack and Dropbox. The move could diversify revenue beyond advertising and create opportunities in subscriptions, transaction fees and enterprise software. Meta expands Muse AI agent for small businesses
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to view Muse as a potential multibillion-dollar growth catalyst, citing early adoption, integration across Meta’s apps and possible commercial API and subscription revenue. AI tools are also expected to improve advertising engagement and conversions. Analysts align on Meta Muse as a growth catalyst
• Positive Sentiment: Strategists argue Meta could be relatively resilient if AI infrastructure spending slows because it is using AI to enhance an existing advertising business rather than relying solely on hardware sales. A reported $27 billion AI-capacity agreement with Nebius also underscores continued infrastructure investment. Nvidia AI capex and Meta
• Neutral Sentiment: COO Javier Olivan sold shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The transactions reduced his holdings, but scheduled sales generally provide a weaker signal than discretionary insider trading. SEC insider ownership filing
• Negative Sentiment: OpenAI launched Dots, an always-on AI agent positioned against Muse, raising concerns that Meta’s newest growth story could face powerful competition from OpenAI, Google and Apple. OpenAI follows Meta into personal agents
• Negative Sentiment: Reports alleging that Muse accessed private messages without permission have created privacy and reputational concerns, although Meta disputes the claims. Investors are also monitoring heavy AI and data-center spending, a recent quarterly EPS miss, and questions over whether the investment will generate sufficient returns. Meta disputes Muse privacy claim
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Mark Zuckerberg separately sold approximately $21.4 million of stock under a Rule 10b5-1 plan. While scheduled, the sale may add to short-term investor caution following the stock’s sharp rally. Mark Zuckerberg stock sale

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on META shares. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $865.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $796.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $687.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $787.86.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc is a technology company that develops social networking, messaging, virtual and augmented reality, and artificial intelligence products. The company operates a global family of apps that includes Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads, enabling users to connect, communicate, share content and discover communities.

Meta generates most of its business through digital advertising displayed across its platforms. Its products serve individuals, creators, businesses and organizations in markets around the world, while its advertising tools help businesses reach audiences based on factors such as interests, activity and demographics.

Through its Reality Labs division, Meta develops virtual and augmented reality hardware, software and services, including the Meta Quest line of headsets and related experiences.

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