Tran Capital Management L.P. Lowers Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Tran Capital Management reduced its Meta stake by 9% in the second quarter, selling 4,169 shares and retaining 41,933 shares valued at approximately $23.6 million.
• Meta shares opened at $568.97, down 3.5%, while the company’s latest quarterly revenue rose 28% year over year to $60.8 billion; however, earnings of $6.18 per share missed analyst expectations.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $785.32, but investors face risks from regulatory lawsuits, heavy AI infrastructure spending and recent insider selling.

Tran Capital Management L.P. lowered its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 41,933 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 4,169 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up 2.7% of Tran Capital Management L.P.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Tran Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $23,620,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in 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 valued at $132,015,115,000 after buying an additional 7,269,279 shares in the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 105,154,977 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 5.1% in 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 acquiring an additional 4,395,763 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $34,734,628,000 after acquiring an additional 878,396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 310,947 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 3.5%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $568.97 on Tuesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month high of $790.80. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company's 50 day moving average is $595.62 and its 200 day moving average is $619.31. The company has a market cap of $1.45 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 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 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). The company had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $7.14 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.5 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is presently 7.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on META shares. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $650.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Benchmark started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $780.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $785.32.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is reportedly considering selling excess data-center capacity to third parties, which could help monetize its substantial AI infrastructure spending and create an additional revenue stream. The plan remains exploratory. Should You Buy Meta Platforms Stock Below $600 Before Mark Zuckerberg Unveils Its AI Cloud Business?
• Neutral Sentiment: Alibaba’s release of a laptop-ready Qwen model and open model weights underscores intensifying competition in AI, although the immediate financial impact on Meta is uncertain. Alibaba answers Meta's AI challenge with new laptop-ready model
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is facing a major federal trial brought by 29 state attorneys general, who allege Facebook and Instagram were deliberately designed to addict children and that the company misled the public about related risks. The states are seeking financial penalties—potentially as high as $1.4 trillion—and court-ordered product changes. Meta faces ‘astronomical' consequences as legal fight reaches critical moment in California
• Negative Sentiment: The legal overhang intensified after Meta recently lost a nearly $1 billion judgment in a similar New Mexico case. Investors are concerned that an adverse outcome could produce significant financial penalties, costly changes to platform design and broader regulatory restrictions, with thousands of related lawsuits potentially following. Meta Faces 29 States in Court Tuesday
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also scrutinizing Meta’s AI spending. Data-center construction is consuming cash, while reported off-balance-sheet financing arrangements and residual-value guarantees could create future obligations if AI assets become unprofitable or underused. What Could Meta Platforms Off Balance Sheet AI Financing Mean For Investors?

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 1,258 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total value of $754,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,517 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $910,200. This trade represents a 45.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through 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 dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $561.56, for a total value of $280,780.00. Following the sale, the director owned 2,943 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,652,671.08. This represents a 14.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 17,772 shares of company stock valued at $10,823,658 in the last ninety days. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Profile

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding META? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report).

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