Rothschild Capital Partners LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Rothschild Capital Partners cut its Meta position by 37.6% in the second quarter, selling 843 shares and retaining 1,402 shares valued at approximately $790,000.
• Institutional investors own 79.91% of Meta’s stock, with several major firms—including Geode Capital, Norges Bank and Bank of America—adding to their positions.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with Meta carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $789.63. The company’s latest revenue rose 28% year over year to $60.8 billion, although EPS of $6.18 missed expectations.

Rothschild Capital Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 37.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,402 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 843 shares during the period. Rothschild Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $790,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased 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 buying an additional 105,154,977 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 878,396 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $22,152,075,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 2,673,494 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,200,469 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $12,013,948,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046,715 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $890.00 to $730.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $710.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $725.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. KeyCorp decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $780.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $800.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note 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 assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $789.63.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $650.28, for a total value of $13,005,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 244,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $159,003,864.48. This trade represents a 7.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total transaction of $4,379,184.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $462,024. The trade was a 90.46% 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 sold a total of 81,758 shares of company stock worth $51,214,020 over the last quarter. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.6%

NASDAQ:META opened at $736.59 on Wednesday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $609.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $610.57. The company has a market capitalization of $1.88 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $520.26 and a 52-week high of $770.60. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 EPS 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 analysts' expectations of $60.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $7.14 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.93 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 21st. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.91%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.