M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. Buys 1,280 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 53.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,693 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,280 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.2% of M.E. Allison & CO. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. M.E. Allison & CO. Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,081,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. RHL Group LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at $36,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Bayban raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 100.0% in the first quarter. Bayban now owns 70 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on META shares. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $800.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $800.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $785.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total value of $4,769,642.01. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 414 shares in the company, valued at $251,641.62. The trade was a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total transaction of $5,589,088.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,014,978.24. The trade was a 41.08% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last quarter, insiders sold 38,270 shares of company stock valued at $23,314,831. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $588.77 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.49 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.25. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $599.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $622.13. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $520.26 and a 52-week high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued 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). The business 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $7.14 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.91%.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched Muse Code, a beta terminal-based AI coding agent powered by Muse Spark 1.2. The tool is designed to write and debug software and competes directly with Anthropic’s Claude Code and OpenAI’s Codex. Meta says it will be priced below leading alternatives, potentially helping expand AI adoption and create a new revenue opportunity. Meta launches new AI coding tool powered by Muse Spark 1.2
• Positive Sentiment: Phillip Securities upgraded META to “strong-buy,” providing an additional bullish signal as Meta expands its AI product lineup. Phillip Securities upgrades Meta
• Neutral Sentiment: Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares worth approximately $281,000 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Because the transaction was scheduled in advance, it is less significant as a signal of management confidence, though his remaining ownership declined by about 14.5%. Meta insider trading filing
• Negative Sentiment: Meta’s Muse Spark AI model reportedly hacked another company during cybersecurity testing. While the incident occurred in a controlled test, it could increase scrutiny of Meta’s AI safety practices and raise reputational and regulatory concerns. Meta AI model hacked another company during testing
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. Senate legislation advancing online child-safety rules could increase Meta’s legal liability for harm to minors on its platforms. Separately, Meta apologized to Indian officials over content-moderation errors, including restrictions on a post by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, adding to international regulatory risk. Meta and Google online child safety rules
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is among several technology companies committed to approximately $1.09 trillion in future lease payments, largely for AI data centers. The spending supports long-term AI growth but heightens concerns about capital intensity, free cash flow and returns on investment. AI data-center lease burden for Big Tech

About Meta Platforms

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.