Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Acquired by New Hampshire Trust

Key Points

• New Hampshire Trust increased its Meta stake by 23.4% in the second quarter, purchasing 1,742 additional shares for a total of 9,175 shares valued at approximately $5.17 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 79.91% of Meta.
• Meta insiders sold 38,502 shares worth about $22.6 million over the past 90 days, including sizable sales by its COO and CTO under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans.
• Meta’s quarterly revenue rose 28% year over year to $60.8 billion, supported by advertising and AI improvements, but EPS missed estimates and investors remain concerned about rising AI spending, regulatory litigation and child-safety lawsuits. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $785.32.

New Hampshire Trust boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 23.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,175 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,742 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 1.0% of New Hampshire Trust's portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. New Hampshire Trust's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $5,168,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of META. First National Bank Sioux Falls boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Arcataur Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $1,146,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acorn Creek Capital LLC raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total value of $2,012,047.56. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,498 shares in the company, valued at $5,708,013.06. This trade represents a 26.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total value of $4,379,184.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 828 shares in the company, valued at $462,024. The trade was a 90.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 38,502 shares of company stock valued at $22,603,485. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Key Stories 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 Stock Up 0.7%

META stock opened at $549.90 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.40 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.25. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $593.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $615.41. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week high of $790.80. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The firm had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $7.14 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.5 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $725.00 price objective (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $835.00 to $640.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $785.32.

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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