Rakuten Securities Inc. Grows Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Rakuten Securities increased its Meta position by 63.5% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 9,876 shares worth approximately $5.56 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.91% of Meta’s stock.
• Meta insiders sold 60,183 shares worth about $36.7 million over the past 90 days, including a $13 million sale by Christopher Cox under a pre-arranged trading plan.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $788.88. Meta reported 28% year-over-year revenue growth to $60.8 billion, though quarterly EPS of $6.18 missed expectations.

Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 63.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,876 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,836 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 1.3% of Rakuten Securities Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Rakuten Securities Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $5,563,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Objective Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Objective Capital Management LLC now owns 553 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $365,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Watchman Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Watchman Group Inc. now owns 5,091 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $2,913,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Penney Financial LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 3.9% during the first quarter. Penney Financial LLC now owns 399 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.0% in the first 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. Finally, CWS Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the first quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC now owns 985 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $564,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,838 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $616.71, for a total value of $1,750,222.98. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 11,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,192,072.02. This represents a 19.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Christopher Cox sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $650.28, for a total transaction of $13,005,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 244,516 shares in the company, valued at $159,003,864.48. The trade was a 7.56% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 60,183 shares of company stock worth $36,673,495. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Meta Platforms from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $640.00 to $820.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $750.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price 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. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $883.00 to $886.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Mizuho set a $750.00 price objective on Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $788.88.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $670.24 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $603.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $609.04. The stock has a market cap 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 one year low of $520.26 and a one 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.The firm had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $60.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $7.14 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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