Thornburg Investment Management Inc. Acquires 4,250 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Thornburg Investment Management increased its Meta Platforms stake by 3.4% in the second quarter, acquiring 4,250 shares for a total of 130,466 shares valued at approximately $73.5 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.91% of Meta’s stock.
• Meta reported 28% year-over-year revenue growth to $60.8 billion, though quarterly EPS of $6.18 missed analyst estimates of $7.19. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, equivalent to a 0.3% annual yield.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with Meta receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $792.68. Investor focus is also turning to the company’s AI assistant Muse, its commercial partnerships and potential risks from platform restrictions and rising AI infrastructure costs.

Thornburg Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 130,466 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,250 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 0.7% of Thornburg Investment Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. Thornburg Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $73,490,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Spinnaker Trust boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 3.0% during the second quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 2,019 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,137,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Cullinan Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. now owns 20,521 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $11,559,000 after purchasing an additional 638 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 12,836,063 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $7,230,426,000 after purchasing an additional 162,909 shares in the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 8.8% in the 2nd quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 108,850 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $61,314,000 after buying an additional 8,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mufg Securities Americas Inc. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 9.3% in the second quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. now owns 66,142 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $37,257,000 after acquiring an additional 5,634 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $741.24 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $608.02 and a 200-day moving average of $610.09. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $520.26 and a 52-week high of $785.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.89 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). The firm had revenue of $60.80 billion during 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%. Meta Platforms's revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $7.14 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.93 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 3,240 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $618.06, for a total transaction of $2,002,514.40. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,271 shares in the company, valued at $3,875,854.26. The trade was a 34.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $657.73, for a total transaction of $622,212.58. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 10,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,048,234.68. This trade represents a 8.11% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 81,758 shares of company stock worth $51,214,020. Insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $785.00 target price (down from $800.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $700.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $780.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $800.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Four 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.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $792.68.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Muse is gaining rapid user adoption. Muse reportedly surpassed ChatGPT in early U.S. iOS downloads, with approximately 730,000 downloads in its first five days and stronger first-12-day performance than ChatGPT’s mobile launch. The traction is strengthening expectations that Meta can monetize AI through advertising, subscriptions and commerce. Meta Muse downloads article
• Positive Sentiment: Partnerships support a broader AI platform strategy. Shopify plans to let Muse complete purchases across its merchant network, while reports also cited interest from services such as Stripe. These integrations could increase Muse’s usefulness and create future transaction or platform revenue opportunities. Shopify Muse checkout article
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst optimism added momentum. Wells Fargo raised its Meta price target to $796 from $640 and maintained an Overweight rating, citing Muse’s early traction, recent model launches and the upcoming Connect conference. Wells Fargo price target article
• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure investments are being viewed as strategic growth spending. Meta’s planned Alberta data center and reported high-capacity subsea network reinforce its commitment to supporting AI workloads, although the investments could raise near-term costs.
• Neutral Sentiment: Connect is a near-term catalyst. Traders expect potentially significant volatility around Meta’s annual event, where the company may provide updates on Muse, AI models, hardware and monetization plans. Meta Connect trading expectations article
• Negative Sentiment: Amazon blocked Muse from shopping on its website, citing unauthorized access, security and credential concerns. The dispute highlights regulatory, privacy and platform-integration risks that could limit agentic-commerce adoption. Amazon blocks Muse article

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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