Whittier Trust Co. Has $155.78 Million Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Whittier Trust increased its Meta stake by 0.8% in the second quarter, owning 259,511 shares valued at approximately $155.78 million. Meta represents about 1.5% of the firm’s portfolio and is its 13th-largest holding.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of Meta’s shares, while several smaller investment firms recently initiated positions.
• Meta reported quarterly revenue of $60.8 billion, up 28% year over year, but earnings per share of $6.18 missed analyst expectations. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $785.32, although some firms recently lowered their targets.

Whittier Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 0.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 259,511 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,971 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 1.5% of Whittier Trust Co.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Whittier Trust Co.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $155,782,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. RHL Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $559.02 on Tuesday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $592.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $613.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.42 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week high of $790.80.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). The firm had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The company's revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $7.14 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief operating officer owned 9,498 shares in the company, 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 document filed 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, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total value of $1,268,023.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 1,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at $681,890.56. The trade was a 65.03% 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. Insiders sold a total of 37,036 shares of company stock worth $21,710,720 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Advertising growth supports the stock. Meta’s accelerating ad business is benefiting from AI-driven recommendation tools, high user engagement and greater advertiser adoption, helping the company maintain an advantage over Reddit and Snap. META Rides on Ad Growth: Can It Stay Ahead of RDDT and SNAP?
• Positive Sentiment: AI talent and investment strengthen Meta’s long-term narrative. Former OpenAI researcher Luke Metz has joined Meta’s Superintelligence Labs, reporting to Alexandr Wang. Mark Zuckerberg has also outlined an aggressive plan to build agentic AI, potentially broadening Meta’s growth beyond online advertising. Former OpenAI researcher Luke Metz joins Meta's Superintelligence Labs under Alexandr Wang Mark Zuckerberg Published a 6,500-Word AI Manifesto
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional buying and AI monetization potential add support. Reports of hedge-fund purchases during the second quarter and Meta’s ability to monetize AI usage through advertising are reinforcing the bullish long-term thesis. Two Legendary Investors Just Bought Meta Platforms Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector rotation is also helping. Meta and Alphabet edged higher while Snap gained and Reddit declined, indicating selective buying among social-media stocks rather than a uniform sector move. Social Media Trade Splits
• Negative Sentiment: AI spending and governance risks remain overhangs. Meta’s unrestricted AI buildout requires significant investment, while reports that employee-monitoring apps shared worker data with Facebook could renew privacy and regulatory concerns. Bossware Data Shared with Facebook

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. Bank of America dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $835.00 to $810.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Citizens Jmp decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $770.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Monness Crespi & Hardt dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $890.00 to $730.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $600.00 price target 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-five have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $785.32.

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.

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