Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Purchased by Baldwin Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Baldwin Investment Management increased its Meta position by 63.6% in the second quarter, holding 4,272 shares valued at approximately $2.4 million. Hedge funds and other institutions own 79.91% of Meta’s stock.
• Meta reported quarterly revenue of $60.8 billion, up 28% year over year and above estimates, but earnings per share of $6.18 fell short of the $7.19 consensus forecast.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $785.32 price target, despite recent target reductions and insider sales conducted under pre-arranged trading plans.

Baldwin Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 63.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,272 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,661 shares during the period. Baldwin Investment Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,407,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of META. RHL Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Advantage Trust Co purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $559.02 on Tuesday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $592.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $613.84. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $790.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.42 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.06, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $7.14 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $0.525 dividend. 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 is presently 7.91%.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Advertising growth supports the stock. Meta’s accelerating ad business is benefiting from AI-driven recommendation tools, high user engagement and greater advertiser adoption, helping the company maintain an advantage over Reddit and Snap. META Rides on Ad Growth: Can It Stay Ahead of RDDT and SNAP?
• Positive Sentiment: AI talent and investment strengthen Meta’s long-term narrative. Former OpenAI researcher Luke Metz has joined Meta’s Superintelligence Labs, reporting to Alexandr Wang. Mark Zuckerberg has also outlined an aggressive plan to build agentic AI, potentially broadening Meta’s growth beyond online advertising. Former OpenAI researcher Luke Metz joins Meta's Superintelligence Labs under Alexandr Wang Mark Zuckerberg Published a 6,500-Word AI Manifesto
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional buying and AI monetization potential add support. Reports of hedge-fund purchases during the second quarter and Meta’s ability to monetize AI usage through advertising are reinforcing the bullish long-term thesis. Two Legendary Investors Just Bought Meta Platforms Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector rotation is also helping. Meta and Alphabet edged higher while Snap gained and Reddit declined, indicating selective buying among social-media stocks rather than a uniform sector move. Social Media Trade Splits
• Negative Sentiment: AI spending and governance risks remain overhangs. Meta’s unrestricted AI buildout requires significant investment, while reports that employee-monitoring apps shared worker data with Facebook could renew privacy and regulatory concerns. Bossware Data Shared with Facebook

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 1,559 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total transaction of $869,922.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,092,006. This trade represents a 44.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $561.56, for a total value of $280,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,943 shares in the company, valued at $1,652,671.08. This trade represents a 14.52% 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 37,036 shares of company stock valued at $21,710,720. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $650.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $785.00 target price (down from $800.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $800.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Benchmark started coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $780.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $785.32.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding META? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report).

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.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source