LM Advisors LLC Acquires 6,312 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• LM Advisors increased its Meta Platforms stake by 67.1% in the second quarter, purchasing 6,312 additional shares for a total holding of 15,715 shares valued at approximately $8.85 million.
• Meta has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from analysts, with an average price target of $788.88; recent analysts raised targets and reaffirmed bullish ratings.
• Meta reported 28% year-over-year revenue growth but missed quarterly EPS expectations, while also announcing a $0.525 quarterly dividend. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company, though insiders have sold shares in recent months.

LM Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 67.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,715 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 6,312 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 1.0% of LM Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. LM Advisors LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $8,851,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its stake 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 worth $69,502,379,000 after acquiring an additional 105,154,977 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 878,396 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $22,152,075,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 14.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 21,038,035 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $12,036,491,000 after purchasing an additional 2,673,494 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,200,469 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $12,013,948,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,715 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Benchmark reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $800.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $700.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Phillip Securities upgraded Meta Platforms to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $788.88.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.5%

NASDAQ META opened at $673.31 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $790.80. 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's fifty day moving average price is $605.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $609.16. The stock has a market cap of $1.72 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.25.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). The company had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.Meta Platforms's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $7.14 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is 7.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 3,240 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $618.06, for a total transaction of $2,002,514.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 6,271 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,875,854.26. This trade represents a 34.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total value of $5,063,409.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at $7,260,343.46. This trade represents a 41.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 61,758 shares of company stock valued at $37,709,420. 13.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI subscriptions create a potential new revenue stream. Meta launched Meta One subscription tiers offering expanded access to AI tools and premium features across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. The company says the program has reached 15 million subscriptions and trials, supporting the case that Meta can generate recurring revenue beyond advertising. Reuters article on Meta One subscriptions
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain bullish. Rosenblatt reaffirmed a Buy rating with an $886 price target, while JPMorgan highlighted improving AI monetization and better advertising performance. Citi also said next week’s developers conference could provide a catalyst if Meta unveils compelling AI and hardware updates. Citi commentary on Meta’s upcoming event
• Positive Sentiment: New hardware and infrastructure initiatives could broaden Meta’s AI ecosystem. Meta reportedly plans to launch camera-free smart glasses this fall, while expanded use of proprietary AI chips could reduce reliance on Nvidia and potentially lower computing costs. Reuters article on camera-free smart glasses
• Neutral Sentiment: Management is defending a faster, company-led AI development strategy. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Meta delayed its Muse AI agent to address safety concerns but opposed broad development slowdowns, favoring independent evaluators and internal safeguards.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and execution risks remain. BMO identified expanding age-verification requirements as a potential challenge, while new restrictions on youth-oriented advertising practices could increase Meta’s legal and compliance costs. Investors are also watching the company’s large AI infrastructure commitments, which could pressure free cash flow if advertising growth or AI utilization disappoints.
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider selling adds a limited cautionary signal. COO Javier Olivan sold shares worth roughly $1.0 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The transactions reduce his holdings but do not necessarily indicate a change in management’s outlook.

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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