Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Encore Global Management LP

Key Points

• Encore Global Management LP cut its Meta stake by 11.4% in the second quarter, selling 1,000 shares and retaining 7,750 shares valued at approximately $4.37 million. Meta remains about 4.3% of Encore’s portfolio and its third-largest holding.
• Other institutional investors generally increased their Meta positions, and hedge funds and other institutions collectively own approximately 79.91% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with Meta receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $788.88, despite its latest quarterly EPS missing estimates. Shares were trading at $670.24, while insiders—including the CFO and CTO—also reported sizable sales under pre-arranged trading plans.

Encore Global Management LP reduced its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 11.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,750 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 1,000 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up about 4.3% of Encore Global Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Encore Global Management LP's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $4,365,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 18.6% during the 2nd quarter. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd now owns 18,777 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $10,577,000 after acquiring an additional 2,939 shares in the last quarter. Abbot Financial Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 53.5% in the 2nd quarter. Abbot Financial Management Inc. now owns 2,845 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,603,000 after acquiring an additional 991 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 17.4% in the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 18,000 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $10,299,000 after acquiring an additional 2,670 shares during the last quarter. WMS Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $876,000. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.9% during the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 625,079 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $352,101,000 after acquiring an additional 29,411 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $700.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $640.00 to $820.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Benchmark reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $650.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $788.88.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: New Meta One subscriptions could create recurring AI revenue. Meta introduced plans ranging from individual to creator and business tiers, priced from $2.99 to $499 per month, offering expanded access to AI image, video and editing tools across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Meta AI. The initiative gives investors a clearer path to monetizing AI beyond advertising. Reuters article on Meta One subscriptions
• Positive Sentiment: AI agents are being integrated into WhatsApp Business. Businesses will be able to use third-party AI agents to set up and manage customer messaging, potentially increasing WhatsApp’s commercial utility and supporting higher business adoption and revenue. TechCrunch article on WhatsApp Business AI agents
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains broadly favorable. Recent coverage highlights bullish views tied to Meta’s Muse AI platform, improving advertising performance and the company’s valuation relative to growth. One report says 55 analysts covering Meta have no sell ratings, while Goldman Sachs has identified further upside potential. Analyst coverage article
• Positive Sentiment: Meta reportedly plans camera-free smart glasses. The internally named Luna glasses could broaden Meta’s wearables strategy while addressing privacy concerns associated with cameras, although launch details remain unconfirmed. Reuters article on Meta’s camera-free smart glasses
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta said it will directly report child-safety cases to India’s cybercrime portal, a move that could improve regulatory cooperation but also underscores continuing scrutiny of its platforms. Article on Meta’s child-safety reporting in India
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and legal risks remain significant. California’s restrictions on certain youth-targeted advertising practices and a lawsuit involving alleged facial-recognition features in Meta’s smart glasses could increase legal costs and limit product functionality. Article on Meta’s regulatory risks
• Negative Sentiment: Investors continue to debate whether Meta’s aggressive AI infrastructure commitments will generate sufficient returns, particularly if interest rates remain elevated. A recent SEC filing also disclosed an insider sale worth approximately $13 million, which may weigh modestly on sentiment. Analysis of Meta’s AI spending

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,196 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total value of $5,063,409.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,260,343.46. This trade represents a 41.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total transaction of $4,379,184.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 828 shares of the company's stock, valued at $462,024. This represents a 90.46% 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. Insiders sold 60,183 shares of company stock worth $36,673,495 in the last three months. 13.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of META opened at $670.24 on Wednesday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $603.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $609.04. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.71 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 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.

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). The business had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $7.14 EPS. Analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

About Meta Platforms

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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