Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Bought by San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC

Key Points

• San Luis Wealth Advisors increased its Meta position by 12.3% in the second quarter, adding 1,262 shares for a total of 11,515 shares valued at approximately $6.49 million.
• Meta reported second-quarter revenue of $60.8 billion, up 28% year over year, but earnings per share of $6.18 fell short of the $7.19 consensus estimate. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $785.32.
• Legal and regulatory risks remain significant, particularly the federal child-safety trial involving allegations that Meta’s platforms encourage addictive use among children; a loss could result in penalties, product changes and weaker advertising activity.

San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 12.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,515 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 1,262 shares during the period. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $6,486,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of META. RHL Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Bayban increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Bayban now owns 70 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s AI investments are showing measurable benefits: second-quarter revenue increased 28% year over year to $60.8 billion, while AI-driven ad ranking reportedly lifted clicks and conversions. Advantage+ reached a $75 billion annual revenue run rate, supporting the argument that AI can improve monetization and eventually offset heavy infrastructure spending. Meta's AI Payoff Has Already Begun
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts and institutional investors remain constructive, viewing the recent selloff as excessive and citing future margin expansion, WhatsApp monetization and additional AI businesses as potential upside drivers. Meta also remains a major holding among several large investment firms. Meta's Dip Offers A 30% Upside Potential
• Neutral Sentiment: Options traders are reportedly using range-bound strategies, indicating that markets may expect elevated volatility but no immediate decisive move while the legal proceedings unfold. Meta's legal troubles has options traders eyeing the jade lizard
• Neutral Sentiment: CFO Susan Li sold 2,127 shares to cover tax withholding tied to vested equity awards. Because the transaction was described as tax-related rather than discretionary, it is unlikely to materially change the investment thesis. Susan Li Sells Meta Shares
• Negative Sentiment: The central market overhang is the landmark federal child-safety trial involving 29 states. Prosecutors allege Facebook and Instagram were deliberately designed to encourage addictive use among children, while former safety personnel have testified that Meta ignored or minimized internal warnings. A loss could lead to substantial penalties, product changes, restrictions on youth engagement and follow-on litigation, potentially threatening user activity and advertising revenue. Former Meta engineer resumes testimony
• Negative Sentiment: Privacy criticism surrounding Meta’s smart glasses, including workplace restrictions and reports of people being recorded without consent, creates reputational and adoption risks for the company’s wearables strategy. Meta Glasses privacy concerns

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $546.03 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $1.39 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $790.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $594.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $617.08.

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 the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.The business had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $7.14 EPS. Meta Platforms's revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were given 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on META. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Phillip Securities raised shares of Meta Platforms to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $890.00 to $730.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $650.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $700.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $785.32.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $561.56, for a total transaction of $280,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,943 shares in the company, valued at $1,652,671.08. This trade represents a 14.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 2,127 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $689.85, for a total transaction of $1,467,310.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 15,347 shares in the company, valued at $10,587,127.95. This trade represents a 12.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 19,899 shares of company stock worth $12,290,969. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

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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