Principle Wealth Partners LLC Acquires 1,386 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Principle Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,496 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,386 shares during the period. Principle Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $13,235,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. RHL Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META opened at $644.38 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $790.80. The company has a market cap of $1.64 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.27, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.25. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $600.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $608.66. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $7.14 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Meta Platforms from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $640.00 to $820.00 in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $785.00 price objective (down from $800.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Citizens Jmp cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $770.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $835.00 to $810.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Four 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $787.54.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Curtis Mahoney sold 1,559 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total transaction of $869,922.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,957 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,092,006. The trade was a 44.34% decrease in their position. 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, CFO Susan Li sold 9,196 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total value of $5,063,409.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,260,343.46. This represents a 41.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 41,581 shares of company stock worth $24,506,695 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan upgraded Meta from Neutral to Overweight and raised its price target from $640 to $820, citing the company’s frontier AI models and AI-agent opportunity as potential growth drivers beyond advertising. JPMorgan upgrades Meta on AI models and agents
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s Muse AI agent gained significant early traction, reportedly reaching the No. 2 position among U.S. apps. Its free and paid subscription tiers could create a recurring revenue stream and help monetize Meta’s substantial AI investments. Meta’s AI agent Muse reaches No. 2 app ranking
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.525 per share, payable September 28 to shareholders of record September 21. The dividend adds to shareholder returns and signals confidence in cash generation. Meta announces quarterly cash dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors remain divided over whether Muse can become a material financial catalyst. Dedicated computing, security and inference costs could pressure margins before subscription revenue scales, while Meta continues to commit heavily to AI infrastructure.
• Negative Sentiment: Star AI researcher Andrew Tulloch is leaving Meta for Anthropic. The departure raises concerns about Meta’s ability to retain high-value technical talent amid intensifying competition for AI researchers. Top AI researcher leaves Meta for Anthropic
• Negative Sentiment: Meta faces renewed privacy and regulatory scrutiny as Muse can access sensitive information and perform actions across third-party applications. Reports of fraudulent cryptocurrency advertisements and related lawsuits add to reputational and legal risks.
• Negative Sentiment: COO Javier Olivan sold shares worth approximately $3.3 million in two transactions under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. Although scheduled sales are less concerning, the sizable reduction in his direct holdings may weigh modestly on sentiment.

Meta Platforms Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc develops technologies that help people connect, communicate and build communities online. The company’s principal products include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and digital communication.

Meta generates most of its business through advertising displayed across its family of apps. It also develops artificial intelligence technologies, business messaging tools and hardware and software through its Reality Labs division, including Quest virtual- and mixed-reality devices and related experiences.

The company was founded as Facebook in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg and was renamed Meta Platforms in 2021 to reflect its broader focus on building the metaverse.