Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Empirical Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Empirical Asset Management cut its Meta stake by 34.9% in the second quarter, selling 3,228 shares and retaining 6,013 shares valued at approximately $3.39 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 79.91% of Meta’s stock.
• Meta’s AI strategy is attracting investor interest: its Muse AI agent reportedly gained early app-store traction, while JPMorgan upgraded the stock to Overweight with an $820 price target. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average target of $787.54.
• Meta reported 28% year-over-year revenue growth to $60.8 billion in its latest quarter, though adjusted EPS of $6.18 missed expectations. The company also declared a $0.525 quarterly dividend, while executives have continued selling shares under pre-arranged trading plans.

Empirical Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 34.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,013 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 3,228 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises about 0.8% of Empirical Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Empirical Asset Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,387,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vista Capital Partners Inc. raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Objective Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Objective Capital Management LLC now owns 553 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $365,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Watchman Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Penney Financial LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.9% in the first quarter. Penney Financial LLC now owns 399 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.0% in the first quarter. Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $869,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, CFO Susan Li sold 9,196 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,260,343.46. This represents a 41.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,838 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $616.71, for a total value of $1,750,222.98. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 11,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,192,072.02. The trade was a 19.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 61,581 shares of company stock worth $37,512,295. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on META shares. Citigroup decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $650.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $810.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $787.54.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $648.03 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $790.80. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $601.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $608.94. The firm has a market cap of $1.65 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 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 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 company had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $60.22 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $7.14 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st will be issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 21st. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is presently 7.91%.

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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