Palmer Knight Co Purchases 6,886 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Palmer Knight Co. more than doubled its Meta position in the second quarter, purchasing 6,886 additional shares for a total of 13,153 shares valued at approximately $7.4 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.91% of Meta’s stock.
• Meta insiders have recently reduced their holdings: CTO Andrew Bosworth and CFO Susan Li sold shares under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, while insiders sold 61,581 shares worth $37.5 million over the past 90 days.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with Meta carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $787.54. The company also reported 28% year-over-year revenue growth and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share.

Palmer Knight Co boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 109.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,153 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,886 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 2.9% of Palmer Knight Co's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Palmer Knight Co's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $7,409,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vista Capital Partners Inc. boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the second quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $794,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Objective Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 during the period. Watchman Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Watchman Group Inc. now owns 5,091 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $2,913,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Penney Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.9% in the first quarter. Penney Financial LLC now owns 399 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $228,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $869,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief technology officer owned 828 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $462,024. The trade was a 90.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan Li sold 9,196 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total transaction of $5,063,409.56. Following 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 ownership of the stock. 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 90 days, insiders have sold 61,581 shares of company stock valued at $37,512,295. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

More Meta Platforms News

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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $835.00 to $810.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Scotiabank reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $763.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Barclays cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $780.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $700.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $787.54.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META stock opened at $648.03 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $601.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $608.94. The stock has a market cap of $1.65 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $790.80. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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 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 the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $7.14 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 21st. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. 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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