Tran Capital Management L.P. Reduces Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Tran Capital Management L.P. decreased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 9.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 41,933 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 4,169 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 2.7% of Tran Capital Management L.P.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Tran Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $23,620,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $20,230,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,537,000 after buying an additional 875 shares during the period. Headwater Capital Co Ltd raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 294.7% in the first quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd now owns 150,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $86,454,000 after buying an additional 112,000 shares during the period. Dymon Asia Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at about $213,000. Finally, Capital & Planning LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at about $322,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total value of $2,012,047.56. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,708,013.06. The trade was a 26.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total transaction of $1,268,023.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 1,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $681,890.56. The trade was a 65.03% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,772 shares of company stock valued at $10,823,658. 13.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 3.5%

Shares of META opened at $568.97 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $595.62 and its 200 day moving average is $619.31. The company has a market capitalization of $1.45 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $790.80. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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). Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.The business had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $7.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

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?

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on META shares. Benchmark began coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Meta Platforms to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $835.00 to $640.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $780.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $785.32.

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.