Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by South Street Advisors LLC

Key Points

• South Street Advisors LLC reduced its Meta stake by 15.2% in the second quarter, selling 3,747 shares and retaining 20,921 shares valued at approximately $11.8 million.
• Other institutional investors generally increased their positions, and institutions and hedge funds collectively own 79.91% of Meta’s shares. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $785.22.
• Meta’s latest quarter featured 28% year-over-year revenue growth to $60.8 billion, though earnings of $6.18 per share missed the $7.19 consensus estimate. The company is also promoting its AI model Muse Spark 1.3 as a potential catalyst for future adoption and monetization.

South Street Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 15.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,921 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 3,747 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 1.5% of South Street Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. South Street Advisors LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $11,785,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank Hapoalim BM boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 72.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank Hapoalim BM now owns 3,280 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,848,000 after purchasing an additional 1,374 shares during the period. North Dakota State Investment Board raised its position in Meta Platforms by 2.6% in the second quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board now owns 64,930 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $36,574,000 after purchasing an additional 1,663 shares during the period. Aviso Wealth Management lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.6% during the second quarter. Aviso Wealth Management now owns 14,318 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $8,065,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. VCI Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 33.1% during the second quarter. VCI Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,562 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $6,513,000 after buying an additional 2,875 shares during the period. Finally, Midwest Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 22.4% in the second quarter. Midwest Trust Co now owns 170,676 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $96,140,000 after buying an additional 31,253 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on META shares. DA Davidson cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $700.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Wedbush reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $595.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Monness Crespi & Hardt reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $890.00 to $730.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. 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 presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $785.22.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta opened paid developer access to Muse Spark 1.3, with company executives and analysts claiming the model is approaching or matching offerings from Anthropic and OpenAI. Improved performance and token efficiency could support adoption in coding agents, model APIs, subscriptions and future generative-search advertising. Meta Platforms: Muse Spark 1.3 Was The Warning Shot
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage identifies Muse Spark 1.3 as a new catalyst that could improve confidence in Meta’s AI roadmap and help the company recover toward its prior highs, provided the technology translates into revenue and returns on investment. Meta Rises 4% as Muse Spark 1.3 Claims Parity with Anthropic and OpenAI
• Positive Sentiment: Some investment commentary views Meta as a major beneficiary of the ongoing AI infrastructure and computing cycle, alongside other hyperscalers, potentially creating a long-term growth opportunity. Hyperscalers Are the Backbone of AI

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $616.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The company has a market cap of $1.57 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.25. The stock's 50-day moving average is $596.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $609.26. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 EPS 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 company had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $7.14 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total value of $4,379,184.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 828 shares in the company, valued at $462,024. This trade represents a 90.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Curtis Mahoney sold 1,559 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total value of $869,922.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 1,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,092,006. The trade was a 44.34% decrease in their position. 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 three months, insiders have sold 32,987 shares of company stock worth $19,202,995. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Company 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.

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