United Asset Strategies Inc. Acquires 1,558 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• United Asset Strategies increased its Meta Platforms stake by 3.1% in the second quarter, purchasing 1,558 shares for a total holding of 52,134 shares valued at approximately $29.4 million.
• Other institutional investors also expanded their positions, and institutions collectively own 79.91% of Meta’s outstanding shares.
• Meta reported 28% year-over-year revenue growth to $60.8 billion, though quarterly EPS of $6.18 fell short of analyst expectations. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $785.32, versus a recent share price near $595.

United Asset Strategies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,134 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,558 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 2.1% of United Asset Strategies Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. United Asset Strategies Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $29,366,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Frankly Finances LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at about $56,000. North Dallas Bank & Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.5% during the second quarter. North Dallas Bank & Trust Co. now owns 4,470 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $2,518,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 86.2% in the 2nd quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,756 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $2,116,000 after purchasing an additional 1,739 shares in the last quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 13.8% in the second quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 8,436 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $4,752,000 after buying an additional 1,022 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Investments LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 904.2% in the 2nd quarter. Parkside Investments LLC now owns 24,100 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $13,575,000 after acquiring an additional 21,700 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $594.97 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.52 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.41, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 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 stock's fifty day moving average price is $596.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $620.62.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). The business had revenue of $60.80 billion for 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%.Meta Platforms's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $7.14 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.5 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on META. UBS Group decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $766.00 to $715.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped 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. KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $780.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Evercore restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $785.32.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Investors are viewing Meta’s roughly $145 billion AI infrastructure commitment as a potentially valuable long-term investment. The company’s data-center buildout and open-weight AI models could strengthen advertising performance, user engagement and future products. Meta and Nvidia plant “very firm flag” in open-weight AI race
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s rollout of a standalone Facebook Creator Studio app with AI-powered audience-growth and engagement tools may support creator activity and platform monetization. Facebook officially rolls out its standalone Creator Studio app with AI tools for creators
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to see substantial upside in META, with consensus price targets well above recent trading levels. The bullish view is supported by strong revenue growth and expectations that AI investments will reinforce Meta’s core advertising business. Meta remains a deeply discounted giant
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s partnership with the North America’s Building Trades Unions is intended to expand access to skilled workers for construction and maintenance of U.S. AI infrastructure, supporting execution of its ambitious capacity expansion. Meta taps skilled trades workers to power America’s AI infrastructure boom
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta removed approximately 756,000 suspected under-16 accounts in Australia—462,000 Instagram accounts and 294,000 Facebook accounts—as it responds to the country’s youth-social-media restrictions. The move demonstrates compliance but may increase moderation and enforcement costs. Meta says it has taken down 756,000 Australian teen accounts
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is defending itself in a major trial brought by 29 U.S. states alleging that Facebook and Instagram were designed to addict children. An adverse outcome could bring significant damages and require costly platform changes. Meta, 29 states head to court over youth social media litigation
• Negative Sentiment: AI spending is pressuring profitability and cash flow, while a German privacy complaint over Meta’s AI glasses adds regulatory risk to its wearable-AI strategy. German advocacy group lodges criminal complaint over Meta AI glasses
• Negative Sentiment: COO Javier Olivan’s recent sales under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, along with some institutional stake reductions, may weigh on sentiment, although the transactions do not necessarily indicate weaker fundamentals.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total transaction of $2,012,047.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 9,498 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,708,013.06. The trade was a 26.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total transaction of $4,769,642.01. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 414 shares of the company's stock, valued at $251,641.62. This trade represents a 94.99% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 36,280 shares of company stock valued at $22,075,696 over the last ninety days. 13.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Company 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.

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