Knollwood Investment Advisory LLC Raises Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Knollwood Investment Advisory increased its Meta stake by 3% in the second quarter to 54,773 shares valued at approximately $30.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own about 79.9% of Meta’s outstanding stock.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $785.90, although Meta’s latest quarterly EPS fell short of estimates despite 28% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Meta shares traded down 3.3%, while insiders sold roughly $80.8 million of stock over the past three months under pre-arranged trading plans; the company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share.

Knollwood Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 3.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,773 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,613 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 2.7% of Knollwood Investment Advisory LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Knollwood Investment Advisory LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $30,853,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Syon Capital LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 88,105 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $49,629,000 after purchasing an additional 3,819 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 6.8% during the second quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 136,631 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $76,963,000 after buying an additional 8,707 shares during the last quarter. Prosperitas Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 11.7% during the second quarter. Prosperitas Financial LLC now owns 13,802 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $7,774,000 after buying an additional 1,446 shares during the last quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 11.1% in the second quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 1,000,247 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $563,429,000 after acquiring an additional 99,835 shares during the period. Finally, Burford Brothers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.8% in the second quarter. Burford Brothers Inc. now owns 5,907 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $3,328,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total value of $4,379,184.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,196 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total transaction of $5,063,409.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,260,343.46. The trade was a 41.09% 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 123,333 shares of company stock worth $80,795,845. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citizens Jmp boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $885.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $595.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $680.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $785.90.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 3.3%

META opened at $751.66 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $779.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.91 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.31, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.25. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $615.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $613.07.

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 (EPS) 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $7.14 earnings per share. Meta Platforms's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.5250 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 21st. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend 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 momentum remains the main bullish catalyst. Early reviews, rising user traction and Meta’s new early-access program for upcoming Muse features are reinforcing expectations that the AI assistant could become a major consumer product and future revenue stream. Meta opens early access program for new Muse features
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts are raising price targets. Deutsche Bank, TD Cowen, Canaccord Genuity and other firms lifted targets and maintained bullish ratings, citing Muse’s potential to expand Meta beyond advertising through subscriptions, commerce and AI services. Meta price targets raised as Muse gains momentum
• Positive Sentiment: AI hardware could broaden Muse’s distribution. Meta is integrating Muse into Ray-Ban AI glasses and introducing additional wearable and VR products, creating potential new hardware, services and commerce opportunities.
• Neutral Sentiment: Friday’s decline appears largely technical. After rising roughly 36% during September and approaching a $2 trillion market value, Meta faced profit-taking and a pullback from recent highs. Bullish options activity suggests some traders continue to view the weakness as a buying opportunity.
• Neutral Sentiment: Large capital spending remains a key debate. Investors are encouraged by Meta’s AI strategy but remain uncertain whether heavy spending on infrastructure and Reality Labs will generate sufficient returns.
• Negative Sentiment: New Mexico litigation adds regulatory risk. A jury found that Meta misled state residents in a case related to the Cambridge Analytica data scandal, potentially increasing legal costs and scrutiny. Meta misled consumers in New Mexico jury case
• Negative Sentiment: A Muse security vulnerability was identified. Meta is adding clearer safety warnings after a vulnerability reportedly could expose sensitive user information, raising concerns about trust and adoption of its AI agent. Meta bolsters Muse safety warning after vulnerability
• Negative Sentiment: Competition and monetization obstacles remain. Amazon blocked Muse from accessing its platform, while privacy concerns around camera-equipped glasses and skepticism toward new AI hardware could limit Meta’s growth plans.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling adds a cautionary signal. Christopher Cox sold 40,000 shares and COO Javier Olivan sold shares under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans. The transactions do not necessarily indicate reduced confidence, but they add to concerns after the stock’s rapid advance.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding META? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.