Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Bought by Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management

Key Points

• Empirical Wealth Management increased its Meta stake by 3.3% in the second quarter, holding 109,412 shares worth approximately $61.6 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 79.91% of Meta.
• Meta reported 28% year-over-year revenue growth to $60.8 billion, exceeding revenue expectations, but quarterly EPS of $6.18 missed the $7.19 consensus estimate. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $785.32.
• Insiders sold 36,280 shares valued at $22.1 million over the past three months, while Meta continues to face concerns over the returns from its large AI and data-center investments and potential youth-related litigation.

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 3.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 109,412 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 3,518 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 0.9% of Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management's portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $61,631,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in META. First National Bank Sioux Falls raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 984 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $649,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. Vista Capital Partners Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $794,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Arcataur Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Arcataur Capital Management LLC now owns 1,736 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,146,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acorn Creek Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC now owns 2,118 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,398,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 1,258 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total transaction of $754,800.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $910,200. The trade was a 45.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $561.56, for a total transaction of $280,780.00. Following the sale, the director owned 2,943 shares in the company, valued at $1,652,671.08. The trade was a 14.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 three months, insiders sold 36,280 shares of company stock valued at $22,075,696. 13.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $589.85 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.50 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $595.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $620.41. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $796.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted 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). Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The business had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $7.14 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.5 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on META. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $750.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued 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 lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Citizens Jmp dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $770.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Four 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $785.32.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive on Meta’s long-term outlook, citing 28% revenue growth, resilient advertising demand and additional monetization opportunities in WhatsApp. Some commentary argues that the market is assigning little value to future AI and messaging revenue streams. Meta Has $27 Billion That Isn't On Its Balance Sheet
• Positive Sentiment: Meta released Glimmer, an open-weight AI model that users can download and run on their own hardware, supporting Mark Zuckerberg’s strategy of broadening access to AI. The move could strengthen developer adoption and Meta’s competitive position, although its financial payoff is uncertain. Meta's open AI, and a $250M deal gone very wrong
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta removed approximately 756,000 suspected under-16 accounts in Australia—462,000 from Instagram and 294,000 from Facebook—as it enforces the country’s youth social-media restrictions. The action demonstrates regulatory compliance but may raise moderation costs and reduce engagement among younger users. Meta says it has taken down 756,000 Australian teen accounts
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional trading was mixed: Dodge & Cox increased its position by 1.47 million shares, while Sands Capital and Columbus Hill reduced their stakes. These transactions may influence sentiment but do not by themselves change Meta’s fundamentals. Dodge and Cox boosts Meta Platforms stake
• Negative Sentiment: A Ninth Circuit ruling removed a procedural barrier to more than 3,000 lawsuits alleging Meta’s product features harm young users. The court did not determine liability, but the decision allows the cases to proceed and adds potential litigation costs, damages and pressure to change platform design. How Serious Are Thousands of Addiction Lawsuits for Meta and Snap?
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that Meta’s roughly $145 billion AI investment plan and major data-center projects could produce diminishing returns, compress margins and weigh on free cash flow before monetization catches up. Meta: Diminishing Q2 CapEx ROI Is Alarming
• Negative Sentiment: Meta COO Javier Olivan disclosed additional sales under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, while several funds also trimmed holdings. Although planned insider sales are not necessarily bearish, they can add to near-term selling pressure. Meta COO insider stock sale

Meta Platforms 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.

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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