Meta Platforms, Inc. $META is Rayburn West Financial Services LLC’s 8th Largest Position

Rayburn West Financial Services LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 34.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,280 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,913 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 3.6% of Rayburn West Financial Services LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Rayburn West Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $6,443,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Abbot Financial Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 53.5% during the second quarter. Abbot Financial Management Inc. now owns 2,845 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,603,000 after buying an additional 991 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 17.4% during the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 18,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $10,299,000 after acquiring an additional 2,670 shares during the period. WMS Group LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $876,000. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 625,079 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $352,101,000 after acquiring an additional 29,411 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 118,460 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $78,195,000 after acquiring an additional 2,871 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Erste Group Bank raised Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Friday. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $800.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $787.54.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Muse gains early consumer traction: Meta’s new AI agent reportedly reached No. 2 or No. 3 on the U.S. App Store shortly after its launch. Muse can interact with social platforms and outside services, while paid tiers priced at $20 and $100 per month create a potential new revenue stream beyond advertising. Meta’s AI agent Muse is now the No. 2 app in the US
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan upgraded the stock: JPMorgan raised Meta to Overweight from Neutral and increased its price target to $820, citing meaningful growth potential from frontier AI models and agentic products. The upgrade helped reinforce the bullish view that Meta can diversify beyond advertising. JPMorgan upgrades Meta on AI models and agents
• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure optionality: Analysts believe Meta’s large AI-compute investments could eventually support a cloud-computing or infrastructure business, adding an opportunity not currently reflected in the valuation. The company’s strong revenue growth and substantial cash resources support this investment thesis.
• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly dividend declared: Meta announced a $0.525-per-share dividend payable September 28 to shareholders of record September 21. While the yield is modest, the payout signals confidence in ongoing cash generation.
• Neutral Sentiment: Legal settlement viewed as manageable: Commentary suggests Meta’s potential $18 billion social-media-addiction settlement, spread over a decade, may have a limited impact on annual free cash flow. Resolving the litigation could also remove an overhang, but the headline liability remains material.
• Negative Sentiment: Monetization and privacy concerns: Muse’s usefulness depends on access to users’ inboxes, accounts and payments, raising adoption and privacy questions. Analysts remain uncertain about conversion rates and near-term revenue.
• Negative Sentiment: AI execution and regulatory risks: A prominent AI researcher is leaving Meta for Anthropic, while an internal effort to capture employee screens for AI training reportedly triggered resistance. Meta is also discussing possible teen social-media restrictions in South Korea, and TikTok rejected Meta advertisements urging participation in a child-safety settlement.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $648.03 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $601.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $608.94. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $1.65 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.41, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $790.80.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The firm had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $7.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 21st. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.91%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Curtis Mahoney sold 1,559 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total value of $869,922.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,957 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,092,006. The trade was a 44.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,838 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $616.71, for a total transaction of $1,750,222.98. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 11,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,192,072.02. This represents a 19.57% 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 61,581 shares of company stock valued at $37,512,295. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Company 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.