Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Holdings Lifted by Applied Finance Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Applied Finance Capital Management LLC increased its Meta Platforms holdings by 16% in the first quarter, adding 9,122 shares to bring its total to 66,114 shares worth about $37.8 million.
• Several Meta insiders have recently sold shares, including COO Javier Olivan and CTO Andrew Bosworth, with total insider sales over the last three months reaching 39,503 shares valued at about $24.2 million.
• Analysts remain generally bullish on META, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $830.45, while the company’s latest earnings beat expectations on both EPS and revenue.

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 16.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 66,114 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,122 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 2.8% of Applied Finance Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $37,826,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RHL Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Bayban increased its position in Meta Platforms by 100.0% in the first quarter. Bayban now owns 70 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 9,498 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,708,013.06. This trade represents a 26.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total transaction of $4,769,642.01. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 414 shares of the company's stock, valued at $251,641.62. The trade was a 94.99% decrease in their position. 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders have sold 39,503 shares of company stock valued at $24,241,859. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on META shares. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $835.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an "overweight" rating for the company. BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Meta Platforms from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $830.45.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is reportedly in early talks to lease computing power to Anthropic in a potential deal worth up to $10 billion. Investors view that as a possible new revenue stream that would help Meta monetize its AI infrastructure and validate demand for its computing capacity. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Meta also unveiled its newest AI model, Muse Spark 1.1, and the company is reportedly considering a broader cloud push. Together, those moves reinforce the idea that Meta can turn heavy AI spending into products and services that generate returns. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive on Meta’s earnings outlook, with Erste Group raising its FY2027 EPS estimate and maintaining a Buy rating. That adds to the bullish case heading into the next earnings report. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: A federal judge declined to block Meta from laying off workers who filed an AI discrimination lawsuit. The ruling removes an immediate legal obstacle, but the underlying claims over alleged bias in AI-driven job cuts still create headline risk. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is also facing scrutiny from employees over AI-assisted layoffs, with allegations that its tools discriminated against protected groups. That could keep legal and reputational pressure on the stock. Article Title

Meta Platforms Trading Down 2.8%

META opened at $646.01 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.63 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.25. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $603.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $627.00. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $796.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.43 EPS. Meta Platforms's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.42 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.63%.

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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