Plancorp LLC Raises Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Plancorp LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 14.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,155 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 1,287 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 0.1% of Plancorp LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Plancorp LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $5,720,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. First National Bank Sioux Falls grew its position in Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 2,001 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,321,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 984 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $649,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Vista Capital Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the second quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $794,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Arcataur Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Arcataur Capital Management LLC now owns 1,736 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,146,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acorn Creek Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC now owns 2,118 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,398,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $835.00 to $810.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Meta Platforms to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt decreased their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $725.00 target price (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $810.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $785.32.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive on Meta’s long-term outlook, citing 28% revenue growth, resilient advertising demand and additional monetization opportunities in WhatsApp. Some commentary argues that the market is assigning little value to future AI and messaging revenue streams. Meta Has $27 Billion That Isn’t On Its Balance Sheet
• Positive Sentiment: Meta released Glimmer, an open-weight AI model that users can download and run on their own hardware, supporting Mark Zuckerberg’s strategy of broadening access to AI. The move could strengthen developer adoption and Meta’s competitive position, although its financial payoff is uncertain. Meta’s open AI, and a $250M deal gone very wrong
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta removed approximately 756,000 suspected under-16 accounts in Australia—462,000 from Instagram and 294,000 from Facebook—as it enforces the country’s youth social-media restrictions. The action demonstrates regulatory compliance but may raise moderation costs and reduce engagement among younger users. Meta says it has taken down 756,000 Australian teen accounts
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional trading was mixed: Dodge & Cox increased its position by 1.47 million shares, while Sands Capital and Columbus Hill reduced their stakes. These transactions may influence sentiment but do not by themselves change Meta’s fundamentals. Dodge and Cox boosts Meta Platforms stake
• Negative Sentiment: A Ninth Circuit ruling removed a procedural barrier to more than 3,000 lawsuits alleging Meta’s product features harm young users. The court did not determine liability, but the decision allows the cases to proceed and adds potential litigation costs, damages and pressure to change platform design. How Serious Are Thousands of Addiction Lawsuits for Meta and Snap?
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that Meta’s roughly $145 billion AI investment plan and major data-center projects could produce diminishing returns, compress margins and weigh on free cash flow before monetization catches up. Meta: Diminishing Q2 CapEx ROI Is Alarming
• Negative Sentiment: Meta COO Javier Olivan disclosed additional sales under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, while several funds also trimmed holdings. Although planned insider sales are not necessarily bearish, they can add to near-term selling pressure. Meta COO insider stock sale

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.9%

NASDAQ META opened at $589.85 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $796.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The company has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.25. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $595.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $620.41.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results 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 company 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%.Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $7.14 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.91%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly 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. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total value of $5,589,088.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at $8,014,978.24. The trade was a 41.08% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 36,280 shares of company stock valued at $22,075,696 over the last ninety days. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.