Prospera Financial Services Inc Has $49.57 Million Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.2% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 87,954 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,020 shares during the quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $49,567,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of META. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $69,502,379,000 after buying an additional 105,154,977 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $22,152,075,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $132,015,115,000 after buying an additional 7,269,279 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 488.1% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,466,595 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,608,445,000 after buying an additional 4,537,076 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 5.1% during the 4th 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $568.97 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month high of $790.80. The company has a market cap of $1.45 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $595.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $619.31.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share (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 net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The business’s revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $7.14 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.5 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. 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 7.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $800.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Mizuho set a $750.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $785.32.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 1,258 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total transaction of $754,800.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 1,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $910,200. The trade was a 45.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $561.56, for a total transaction of $280,780.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,943 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,652,671.08. This trade represents a 14.52% 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 have sold a total of 17,772 shares of company stock worth $10,823,658 over the last ninety days. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Stories 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?

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.