Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Bought by West Family Investments Inc.

West Family Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 20.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,654 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,132 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 1.1% of West Family Investments Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. West Family Investments Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,748,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Abbot Financial Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 53.5% during the second quarter. Abbot Financial Management Inc. now owns 2,845 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,603,000 after purchasing an additional 991 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 17.4% in the first quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 18,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $10,299,000 after purchasing an additional 2,670 shares in the last quarter. WMS Group LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $876,000. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 4.9% in the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 625,079 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $352,101,000 after buying an additional 29,411 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 118,460 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $78,195,000 after buying an additional 2,871 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $648.03 on Friday. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $601.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $608.94. The company has a market cap of $1.65 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.41, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $790.80.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.The company had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $7.14 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 21st. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,196 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total value of $5,063,409.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,260,343.46. This trade represents a 41.09% decrease in their position. The transaction 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, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,838 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $616.71, for a total transaction of $1,750,222.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 11,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,192,072.02. This represents a 19.57% 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 61,581 shares of company stock valued at $37,512,295 in the last three months. 13.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Muse gains early consumer traction: Meta’s new AI agent reportedly reached No. 2 or No. 3 on the U.S. App Store shortly after its launch. Muse can interact with social platforms and outside services, while paid tiers priced at $20 and $100 per month create a potential new revenue stream beyond advertising. Meta’s AI agent Muse is now the No. 2 app in the US
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan upgraded the stock: JPMorgan raised Meta to Overweight from Neutral and increased its price target to $820, citing meaningful growth potential from frontier AI models and agentic products. The upgrade helped reinforce the bullish view that Meta can diversify beyond advertising. JPMorgan upgrades Meta on AI models and agents
• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure optionality: Analysts believe Meta’s large AI-compute investments could eventually support a cloud-computing or infrastructure business, adding an opportunity not currently reflected in the valuation. The company’s strong revenue growth and substantial cash resources support this investment thesis.
• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly dividend declared: Meta announced a $0.525-per-share dividend payable September 28 to shareholders of record September 21. While the yield is modest, the payout signals confidence in ongoing cash generation.
• Neutral Sentiment: Legal settlement viewed as manageable: Commentary suggests Meta’s potential $18 billion social-media-addiction settlement, spread over a decade, may have a limited impact on annual free cash flow. Resolving the litigation could also remove an overhang, but the headline liability remains material.
• Negative Sentiment: Monetization and privacy concerns: Muse’s usefulness depends on access to users’ inboxes, accounts and payments, raising adoption and privacy questions. Analysts remain uncertain about conversion rates and near-term revenue.
• Negative Sentiment: AI execution and regulatory risks: A prominent AI researcher is leaving Meta for Anthropic, while an internal effort to capture employee screens for AI training reportedly triggered resistance. Meta is also discussing possible teen social-media restrictions in South Korea, and TikTok rejected Meta advertisements urging participation in a child-safety settlement.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on META shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $890.00 to $730.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $810.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $800.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $787.54.

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.