Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stake Boosted by Covington Investment Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Covington Investment Advisors increased its Meta stake by 14.7% in the second quarter to 23,911 shares valued at approximately $13.47 million. Institutional and hedge-fund investors own 79.91% of Meta’s stock.
• Analysts maintain a broadly positive view, with Meta receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $789.63, despite some target reductions and neutral ratings.
• Meta reported 28% year-over-year revenue growth to $60.8 billion, but quarterly EPS of $6.18 fell short of the $7.19 consensus estimate. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, while insiders sold more than $51 million of stock over the past three months.

Covington Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 14.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,911 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 3,060 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 1.7% of Covington Investment Advisors Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Covington Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $13,469,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,939 shares in the last quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 33.6% in the second quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc now owns 3,031 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,707,000 after buying an additional 763 shares during the last quarter. Abbot Financial Management Inc. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 53.5% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 17.4% in the first 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. Finally, WMS Group LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $876,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $800.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $766.00 to $715.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $800.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $789.63.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.6%

META stock opened at $736.59 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $520.26 and a 52-week high of $770.60. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $1.88 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a 50-day moving average of $609.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $610.57.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The business had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $7.14 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.93 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 21st. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.91%.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Muse is gaining significant consumer traction. The agent reportedly surpassed ChatGPT’s early mobile download pace and can handle tasks such as shopping, travel bookings, email and financial-related services. Investors increasingly view Muse as a potential new revenue platform rather than simply another AI feature. Wall Street expects Meta's AI agent to shape into a new revenue engine
• Positive Sentiment: Commercial partnerships strengthen the monetization case. Shopify is integrating Shop Pay checkout with Muse, while PayPal is also expected to use the agent. These deals could help Meta capture value from AI-powered commerce and create a platform for outside developers and services. Shopify Brings Shop Pay Checkout Solution to Meta's Muse AI Agent
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised their targets. Jefferies increased its Meta price target to $875 from $710 and maintained a Buy rating, while Bank of America reaffirmed Buy with an $810 target. Analysts cited Muse’s early adoption and potential to add a new earnings stream. Jefferies Adjusts Price Target on Meta Platforms
• Positive Sentiment: The core advertising business remains supportive. Meta’s latest reported revenue increased 28% year over year to $60.8 billion, with stronger ad pricing helping offset slower impression growth. Investors are also looking ahead to additional AI announcements at Meta Connect.
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta continues to expand its AI infrastructure. Its planned Petal subsea cable and reported custom CPU work with Arm could improve long-term computing capacity and efficiency, but these projects require substantial capital and will not produce immediate revenue.
• Negative Sentiment: Execution and spending concerns remain. Meta’s recent EPS missed consensus despite revenue growth, while rising capital expenditures, debt and weaker cash-flow expectations could limit near-term upside after the stock’s large advance.
• Negative Sentiment: Amazon’s refusal to allow Muse shopping highlights platform friction. Meta is also testing human contractors to complete some Muse calls, raising questions about reliability, privacy, scalability and the cost of delivering the service. Meta testing a human concierge for Muse

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the company'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 $4,379,184.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 828 shares of the company's stock, valued at $462,024. This represents a 90.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, 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 value of $2,002,514.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 6,271 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,875,854.26. This represents a 34.07% 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. Insiders have sold 81,758 shares of company stock valued at $51,214,020 in the last three months. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms 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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