Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC

Key Points

• SeaBridge Investment Advisors reduced its Meta Platforms stake by 19.7% in the second quarter, selling 4,079 shares and retaining 16,609 shares valued at approximately $9.36 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively 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 missed the $7.19 consensus. Shares opened at $549.90, well below their 52-week high of $790.80.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $785.32 price target, although concerns include rising AI-related capital spending, regulatory litigation and insider share sales.

SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 19.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,609 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 4,079 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 1.4% of SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $9,356,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. First National Bank Sioux Falls lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 2,001 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,321,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 984 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $649,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the second quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $794,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. Arcataur Capital Management LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Arcataur Capital Management LLC now owns 1,736 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,146,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Acorn Creek Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC now owns 2,118 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,398,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $549.90 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $593.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $615.41. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.40 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $790.80.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted 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 previous year, the firm posted $7.14 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 7.91%.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched Pocket in the U.S., an AI-powered app that lets users create and share interactive games through text prompts. The product could increase engagement and expand Meta’s consumer AI ecosystem. Meta brings Pocket to U.S. users
• Positive Sentiment: Meta introduced a Mac app for Meta AI with system-wide dictation and screen-aware assistance. The company is also pricing its new Muse Code coding agent below Anthropic and OpenAI offerings, potentially helping it attract developers and build AI adoption. Meta AI launches Mac app
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s core advertising business remains strong, with quarterly revenue rising 28% year over year to $60.8 billion. AI-related improvements to recommendations and ad delivery are supporting engagement, clicks and conversion efficiency. Meta drawdown analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is contesting the Federal Trade Commission’s effort to revive monopoly charges. The company argues that Facebook and Instagram users increasingly see recommended content rather than posts from friends, a defense that could influence the case’s regulatory implications. Meta fights FTC monopoly charges
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta’s CTO Andrew Bosworth, CFO Susan Li and insider Curtis Mahoney sold shares worth roughly $10.3 million in aggregate under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans. The transactions are limited as discretionary signals but may still affect investor sentiment. Meta insider transaction filing
• Negative Sentiment: Child-safety and social-media addiction litigation is intensifying. Testimony alleging that some safety tools were “designed to fail” raises the possibility of major damages, mandated product changes, restrictions on engagement features and pressure on advertising monetization. Meta social media lawsuit trial
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that heavier AI capital spending will depress second-half free cash flow and increase financial pressure. Those concerns follow Meta’s quarterly EPS miss, despite its revenue beat, and have contributed to the stock’s year-to-date weakness. Meta stock investment analysis

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total transaction of $2,012,047.56. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 9,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,708,013.06. This trade represents a 26.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total value of $1,268,023.68. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares in the company, valued at $681,890.56. This trade represents a 65.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,502 shares of company stock valued at $22,603,485. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $750.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $835.00 to $640.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.

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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