Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC Sells 3,303 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Mar Vista Investment Partners reduced its Meta stake by 6.3%, selling 3,303 shares and retaining 49,223 shares valued at approximately $27.7 million. Meta represents 2.8% of the fund’s portfolio.
• Institutional investors own nearly 79.9% of Meta’s outstanding shares, with several other large investors increasing their positions during recent quarters.
• Meta reported $60.8 billion in quarterly revenue, up 28% year over year, but earnings of $6.18 per share missed the $7.19 analyst estimate. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, while the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share.

Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC cut its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 6.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,223 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 3,303 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 2.8% of Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Mar Vista Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $27,727,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Abbot Financial Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 53.5% in the second quarter. Abbot Financial Management Inc. now owns 2,845 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,603,000 after purchasing an additional 991 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 17.4% during the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 18,000 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $10,299,000 after purchasing an additional 2,670 shares during the last quarter. WMS Group LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $876,000. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 625,079 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $352,101,000 after purchasing an additional 29,411 shares during the period. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 118,460 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $78,195,000 after buying an additional 2,871 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms 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 company has a market cap of $1.65 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a 50 day moving average of $601.58 and a 200-day moving average of $608.94. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $790.80.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The firm had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $7.14 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Scotiabank restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $785.00 price objective (down from $800.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Four research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $787.54.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CFO Susan Li sold 9,196 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total transaction of $5,063,409.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at $7,260,343.46. This represents a 41.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Christopher Cox sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $650.28, for a total value of $13,005,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 244,516 shares in the company, valued at $159,003,864.48. This trade 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. Insiders have sold 61,581 shares of company stock worth $37,512,295 in the last three months. Insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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.

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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