Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Purchases New Shares in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,874 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $1,619,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. RHL Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Niles Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Philadelphia Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on META shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $890.00 to $730.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $750.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Benchmark restated a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $810.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $800.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $789.63.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.6%

NASDAQ:META opened at $736.59 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $770.60. The firm has a market cap of $1.88 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $609.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $610.57.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 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 analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $7.14 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 21st. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is 7.91%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 3,240 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $618.06, for a total value of $2,002,514.40. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 6,271 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,875,854.26. This represents a 34.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan Li sold 9,196 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total value of $5,063,409.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,260,343.46. This represents a 41.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 quarter, insiders have sold 81,758 shares of company stock valued at $51,214,020. Insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Key Meta Platforms News

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 Company 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.

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