Meyer Handelman Co. Acquires 2,600 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Meyer Handelman Co. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 70,707 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,600 shares during the quarter. Meyer Handelman Co.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $39,829,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Willis Investment Counsel lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 21.5% during the 2nd quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 19,367 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $10,909,000 after purchasing an additional 3,422 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at $150,000. GR Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 9.1% in the second quarter. GR Financial Group LLC now owns 812 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $458,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Everstar Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at about $242,000. Finally, One Day In July LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.3% in the second quarter. One Day In July LLC now owns 1,764 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $993,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 3.0%

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $610.68 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.56 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.00, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.25. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $594.83 and its 200 day moving average is $609.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $790.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $60.80 billion for 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%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $7.14 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total transaction of $2,012,047.56. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Curtis Mahoney sold 1,559 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total transaction of $869,922.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,957 shares in the company, valued at $1,092,006. This trade represents a 44.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 32,987 shares of company stock valued at $19,202,995 over the last quarter. 13.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $700.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $883.00 to $886.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. 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 research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $835.00 to $640.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $785.22.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta unveiled Muse Spark 1.3, an upgraded AI model that AI chief Alexandr Wang says delivers the company’s biggest performance improvement yet and is comparable with offerings from Anthropic and OpenAI. The announcement strengthened expectations that Meta can compete more effectively in generative AI and monetize its large user base. Meta Rises 4% as Muse Spark 1.3 Claims Parity With Anthropic and OpenAI
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts said Meta’s settlement of major social-media litigation could remove a legal overhang and accelerate the launch of new AI products. Some investors view the settlement as manageable relative to Meta’s scale and believe teen-usage restrictions may have limited revenue impact. Meta settlement could clear the way for new AI product launches, Morgan Stanley says
• Positive Sentiment: Investment commentary highlighted Meta as one of the leading “hyperscalers” supporting the AI ecosystem, with strong revenue growth, user engagement and long-term AI monetization potential. Hyperscalers are the backbone of AI
• Neutral Sentiment: Wedbush reaffirmed its Neutral rating, signaling that the AI opportunity is balanced by valuation, execution and spending concerns. Wedbush Reaffirms Neutral Rating for Meta Platforms
• Negative Sentiment: Meta reportedly agreed to pay as much as $17 billion over 10 years and make major changes to Instagram and Facebook for teen users. The settlement may reduce legal uncertainty, but its cost and potential limits on engagement create financial and operating risks. Meta Is Making These Major Changes for Teen Users After $17 Billion Settlement
• Negative Sentiment: Commentary warned that AI infrastructure spending could approach $145 billion, compressing free cash flow even as revenue grows. Investors also remain concerned about Meta’s dependence on successful AI execution to justify a recovery toward its prior high. Meta Stock Has a New AI Catalyst
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is paying users to share how they use its latest AI model, raising privacy and reputational concerns that could complicate adoption. Separately, the company disabled cameras on some AI glasses after detecting tampering with recording lights. Meta is paying to peek at how you use their latest AI model

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.