Range Advisory LLC Grows Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Range Advisory LLC increased its Meta position by 20.8% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 8,238 shares valued at approximately $4.64 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.91% of Meta’s stock.
• Meta is expanding its AI strategy with the new Meta Enterprise Platform and growing Muse adoption, creating potential revenue streams beyond advertising. However, sharply higher capital expenditures, competition, privacy concerns and regulatory scrutiny pose significant risks.
• Meta shares opened at $715.62 after falling 4.8%; the company’s latest quarterly revenue rose 28% year over year to $60.8 billion, though earnings missed estimates. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $787.86.

Range Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 20.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,238 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 1,419 shares during the period. Range Advisory LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $4,640,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 105,292,277 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $69,502,379,000 after acquiring an additional 105,154,977 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 52,806,712 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $34,734,628,000 after purchasing an additional 878,396 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $22,152,075,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 14.6% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 21,038,035 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $12,036,491,000 after purchasing an additional 2,673,494 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,200,469 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $12,013,948,000 after buying an additional 1,046,715 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched the Meta Enterprise Platform, offering businesses and developers access to its Muse AI agent, Business Agent, Muse API and Muse Code. The company hired MongoDB CEO Chirantan “CJ” Desai to lead the initiative, signaling an effort to generate revenue from its multibillion-dollar AI investments beyond advertising. Meta launches enterprise AI platform
• Positive Sentiment: Muse’s integration across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp is supporting rapid user adoption; the AI-powered app reportedly reached the top spot in the U.S. App Store. Analysts also see potential revenue from subscriptions, transaction fees, enterprise tools and commercial API licensing. Meta Platforms boosts ad engagement with AI
• Positive Sentiment: Monness Crespi & Hardt raised its price target on META to $830 from $730 and maintained a Buy rating, citing the company’s AI opportunity and expanding ecosystem. AI improvements are also reportedly increasing ad engagement, clicks and conversions. Meta Platforms price target raised
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors remain divided over Meta’s AI strategy. Bullish analysts expect new AI agents, smart glasses and enterprise software to create additional revenue streams, while others question whether the returns will justify the investment.
• Negative Sentiment: Capital expenditures rose sharply to $31.1 billion in the second quarter from $19.4 billion a year earlier. The scale of data-center and AI spending is raising concerns about returns on capital and near-term margins. Meta Platforms: Are You Going to Buy the Promise?
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that OpenAI is developing a competing AI assistant intensified competitive concerns. Separately, alleged Muse disclosures of private messages and a user’s address have triggered privacy and safety criticism, potentially creating regulatory and reputational risks. Elon Musk amplifies privacy concerns over Muse
• Negative Sentiment: Meta also faces legal and political overhang after a New Mexico jury found that Facebook misled residents about personal-data practices, while lawmakers are questioning AI and data-center tax subsidies. Recent gains have additionally left the valuation less compelling, increasing sensitivity to execution disappointments.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 4.8%

NASDAQ:META opened at $715.62 on Tuesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $779.82. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $616.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $613.27. 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 $1.82 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its 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). The company had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $7.14 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.93 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st were given a dividend of $0.5250 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 21st. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is presently 7.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,196 shares of the firm's 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 in the company, valued at $7,260,343.46. This trade represents a 41.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total value of $21,359,386.56. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 150,807 shares of company stock valued at $102,155,232 in the last 90 days. 13.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on META shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Tigress Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $945.00 target price (down from $995.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday. President Capital raised Meta Platforms from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $660.00 to $897.00 in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Benchmark reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $820.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $787.86.

About Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc is a technology company that develops social networking, messaging, virtual and augmented reality, and artificial intelligence products. The company operates a global family of apps that includes Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads, enabling users to connect, communicate, share content and discover communities.

Meta generates most of its business through digital advertising displayed across its platforms. Its products serve individuals, creators, businesses and organizations in markets around the world, while its advertising tools help businesses reach audiences based on factors such as interests, activity and demographics.

Through its Reality Labs division, Meta develops virtual and augmented reality hardware, software and services, including the Meta Quest line of headsets and related experiences.

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