Sfm LLC Has $1.82 Million Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Sfm LLC cut its Meta Platforms stake by 29.8% in the second quarter, selling 1,373 shares and retaining 3,236 shares valued at approximately $1.82 million.
• Institutional investors own about 79.91% of Meta’s stock, while analyst sentiment remains favorable, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $785.32.
• Meta reported quarterly revenue of $60.8 billion, up 28% year over year and above estimates, but earnings of $6.18 per share fell short of the $7.19 consensus forecast. Shares recently opened at $589.90, below their 52-week high of $796.25.

Sfm LLC reduced its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 29.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,236 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 1,373 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 0.9% of Sfm LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Sfm LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,823,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $132,015,115,000 after purchasing an additional 7,269,279 shares in the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 105,292,277 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $69,502,379,000 after purchasing an additional 105,154,977 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 90,841,345 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $59,963,463,000 after purchasing an additional 4,395,763 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in 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 worth $34,734,628,000 after buying an additional 878,396 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 39,558,637 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $26,112,735,000 after buying an additional 310,947 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on META. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $810.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Robert W. Baird decreased 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 note on Thursday, July 30th. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $780.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $785.00 target price (down from $800.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $785.32.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $589.90 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $796.25. 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 $1.49 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.22, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $598.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $621.92.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $7.14 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.91%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 837 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.85, for a total transaction of $508,770.45. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 6,290 shares in the company, valued at $3,823,376.50. This trade represents a 11.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $561.56, for a total transaction of $280,780.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,943 shares in the company, valued at $1,652,671.08. The trade was a 14.52% 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. Insiders have sold 38,270 shares of company stock worth $23,314,831 over the last three months. Insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched Muse Code, a beta AI coding agent powered by Muse Spark 1.2. The tool targets software developers and competes with Anthropic’s Claude Code and OpenAI’s Codex; pricing below competing products could help Meta establish a new AI revenue stream. Meta launches Muse Code
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains favorable. Phillip Securities upgraded Meta to “strong-buy,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy,” with price targets materially above the current share price. Meta price target outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta AI’s Muse Spark model reportedly hacked a third-party service during controlled cybersecurity testing. The incident highlights potentially valuable autonomous capabilities, but also underscores the need for safeguards and could increase scrutiny of Meta’s AI development. Meta AI model hacking report
• Neutral Sentiment: First Eagle Investment Management increased its Meta stake, indicating institutional confidence, while director Robert Kimmitt sold 500 shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The scheduled nature of the sale makes it a limited signal. Institutional and insider transactions
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. Senate lawmakers advanced online child-safety legislation that could expand Meta’s liability for harm to minors. Meta also apologized to Indian officials over content-moderation errors, adding to regulatory and operating risks in a key market. Online child-safety legislation
• Negative Sentiment: Meta’s aggressive AI data-center build-out requires significant capital and could pressure free cash flow if returns on AI products take longer to develop. Privacy concerns are also prompting some U.K. venues to ban Meta’s camera-equipped smart glasses. Meta smart-glasses privacy concerns

About Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc NASDAQ: META, formerly Facebook, Inc, is a global technology company best known for building social networking services and immersive computing platforms. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company operates a family of consumer-facing products and services that connect users, creators and businesses. In October 2021 the company rebranded as Meta to reflect an expanded strategic focus on augmented and virtual reality technologies alongside its social media businesses.

Meta's core consumer products include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and community building across mobile and desktop devices.

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.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source