Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Purchased by K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc

Key Points

• K.J. Harrison & Partners increased its Meta stake by 6.8% in the second quarter, adding 1,091 shares to own 17,169 shares valued at approximately $9.67 million. Institutional investors collectively hold about 79.9% of Meta’s outstanding stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable: Meta has an average “Moderate Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $787.54, with JPMorgan upgrading the stock to “Overweight” and raising its target to $820.
• Meta reported quarterly revenue of $60.8 billion, up 28% year over year, though earnings per share missed estimates. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, while insiders sold more than 61,000 shares during the quarter.

K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc grew its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,169 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,091 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.4% of K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc's holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $9,671,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vista Capital Partners Inc. raised its holdings 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. Objective Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Objective Capital Management LLC now owns 553 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $365,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Watchman Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.3% in the first quarter. Watchman Group Inc. now owns 5,091 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $2,913,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Penney Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.9% during the first quarter. Penney Financial LLC now owns 399 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.0% during the first quarter. Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $869,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the subject of several recent research reports. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $800.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Meta Platforms from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $640.00 to $820.00 in a research note on Thursday. Scotiabank restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $785.00 price objective (down from $800.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $787.54.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $648.03 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.65 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $790.80. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $601.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $608.94.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). The business had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.Meta Platforms's quarterly revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $7.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 21st. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is 7.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 3,240 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $618.06, for a total transaction of $2,002,514.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 6,271 shares in the company, valued at $3,875,854.26. This trade represents a 34.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,196 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total transaction of $5,063,409.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at $7,260,343.46. The trade was a 41.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 61,581 shares of company stock worth $37,512,295. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Muse gains early consumer traction: Meta’s new AI agent reportedly reached No. 2 or No. 3 on the U.S. App Store shortly after its launch. Muse can interact with social platforms and outside services, while paid tiers priced at $20 and $100 per month create a potential new revenue stream beyond advertising. Meta's AI agent Muse is now the No. 2 app in the US
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan upgraded the stock: JPMorgan raised Meta to Overweight from Neutral and increased its price target to $820, citing meaningful growth potential from frontier AI models and agentic products. The upgrade helped reinforce the bullish view that Meta can diversify beyond advertising. JPMorgan upgrades Meta on AI models and agents
• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure optionality: Analysts believe Meta’s large AI-compute investments could eventually support a cloud-computing or infrastructure business, adding an opportunity not currently reflected in the valuation. The company’s strong revenue growth and substantial cash resources support this investment thesis.
• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly dividend declared: Meta announced a $0.525-per-share dividend payable September 28 to shareholders of record September 21. While the yield is modest, the payout signals confidence in ongoing cash generation.
• Neutral Sentiment: Legal settlement viewed as manageable: Commentary suggests Meta’s potential $18 billion social-media-addiction settlement, spread over a decade, may have a limited impact on annual free cash flow. Resolving the litigation could also remove an overhang, but the headline liability remains material.
• Negative Sentiment: Monetization and privacy concerns: Muse’s usefulness depends on access to users’ inboxes, accounts and payments, raising adoption and privacy questions. Analysts remain uncertain about conversion rates and near-term revenue.
• Negative Sentiment: AI execution and regulatory risks: A prominent AI researcher is leaving Meta for Anthropic, while an internal effort to capture employee screens for AI training reportedly triggered resistance. Meta is also discussing possible teen social-media restrictions in South Korea, and TikTok rejected Meta advertisements urging participation in a child-safety settlement.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc develops technologies that help people connect, communicate and build communities online. The company's principal products include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and digital communication.

Meta generates most of its business through advertising displayed across its family of apps. It also develops artificial intelligence technologies, business messaging tools and hardware and software through its Reality Labs division, including Quest virtual- and mixed-reality devices and related experiences.

The company was founded as Facebook in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg and was renamed Meta Platforms in 2021 to reflect its broader focus on building the metaverse.

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