Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Holdings Cut by Florida Trust Wealth Management Co

Key Points

• Florida Trust Wealth Management cut its Meta stake by 9.4% in the second quarter, selling 4,881 shares and retaining 46,914 shares valued at approximately $26.4 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.91% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with Meta receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $785.32, despite several firms lowering their targets.
• Meta’s latest quarter showed 28% year-over-year revenue growth to $60.8 billion, beating revenue expectations, but earnings per share of $6.18 missed the $7.19 consensus estimate. The stock opened at $549.90 and remains well below its 52-week high of $790.80.

Florida Trust Wealth Management Co reduced its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 9.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,914 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 4,881 shares during the period. Florida Trust Wealth Management Co's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $26,426,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in META. First National Bank Sioux Falls boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 2,001 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,321,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 984 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $649,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Vista Capital Partners Inc. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the second quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $794,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Arcataur Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Arcataur Capital Management LLC now owns 1,736 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,146,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acorn Creek Capital LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC now owns 2,118 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,398,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on META shares. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Meta Platforms to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $766.00 to $715.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $750.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating and eight have given 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 $785.32.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $549.90 on Monday. The business's fifty day moving average is $593.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $614.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.40 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). The firm had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The firm's revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $7.14 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.91%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total value of $2,012,047.56. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,498 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,708,013.06. This represents a 26.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total transaction of $1,268,023.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares in the company, valued at $681,890.56. This trade represents a 65.03% 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 quarter, insiders have sold 38,502 shares of company stock valued at $22,603,485. Insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched Pocket in the U.S., an AI-powered app that lets users create and share interactive games through text prompts. The product could increase engagement and expand Meta’s consumer AI ecosystem. Meta brings Pocket to U.S. users
• Positive Sentiment: Meta introduced a Mac app for Meta AI with system-wide dictation and screen-aware assistance. The company is also pricing its new Muse Code coding agent below Anthropic and OpenAI offerings, potentially helping it attract developers and build AI adoption. Meta AI launches Mac app
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s core advertising business remains strong, with quarterly revenue rising 28% year over year to $60.8 billion. AI-related improvements to recommendations and ad delivery are supporting engagement, clicks and conversion efficiency. Meta drawdown analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is contesting the Federal Trade Commission’s effort to revive monopoly charges. The company argues that Facebook and Instagram users increasingly see recommended content rather than posts from friends, a defense that could influence the case’s regulatory implications. Meta fights FTC monopoly charges
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta’s CTO Andrew Bosworth, CFO Susan Li and insider Curtis Mahoney sold shares worth roughly $10.3 million in aggregate under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans. The transactions are limited as discretionary signals but may still affect investor sentiment. Meta insider transaction filing
• Negative Sentiment: Child-safety and social-media addiction litigation is intensifying. Testimony alleging that some safety tools were “designed to fail” raises the possibility of major damages, mandated product changes, restrictions on engagement features and pressure on advertising monetization. Meta social media lawsuit trial
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that heavier AI capital spending will depress second-half free cash flow and increase financial pressure. Those concerns follow Meta’s quarterly EPS miss, despite its revenue beat, and have contributed to the stock’s year-to-date weakness. Meta stock investment analysis

Meta Platforms Company Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc NASDAQ: META, formerly Facebook, Inc, is a global technology company best known for building social networking services and immersive computing platforms. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company operates a family of consumer-facing products and services that connect users, creators and businesses. In October 2021 the company rebranded as Meta to reflect an expanded strategic focus on augmented and virtual reality technologies alongside its social media businesses.

Meta's core consumer products include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and community building across mobile and desktop devices.

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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.

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