WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc. Increases Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 16.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,305 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,470 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 1.5% of WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $5,805,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tompkins Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 59.8% in the second quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 4,354 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,453,000 after buying an additional 1,629 shares during the last quarter. Park National Corp OH increased its position in Meta Platforms by 7.9% in the 2nd quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 92,967 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $52,367,000 after acquiring an additional 6,840 shares during the period. BDFS Capital LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 110.4% in the 2nd quarter. BDFS Capital LLC now owns 2,786 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,569,000 after acquiring an additional 1,462 shares during the period. Secure Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 54.1% during the 2nd quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 8,120 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $4,574,000 after acquiring an additional 2,849 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TCP Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. TCP Asset Management LLC now owns 754 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $425,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total value of $2,012,047.56. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 9,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,708,013.06. This represents a 26.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total value of $1,268,023.68. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $681,890.56. This trade represents a 65.03% decrease in their position. 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 17,772 shares of company stock valued at $10,823,658. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $810.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, June 1st. Wedbush lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $671.00 to $595.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $680.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $766.00 to $715.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $800.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $785.32.

Trending Headlines about 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?

Meta Platforms Stock Down 3.5%

META opened at $568.97 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $595.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $619.31. The stock has a market capitalization 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 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 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $790.80.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). The company had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $7.14 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.91%.

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.