SWP Investment Management LLC Buys 2,698 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

SWP Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 49.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,124 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,698 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 3.2% of SWP Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. SWP Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $4,576,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RHL Group LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Bayban increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Bayban now owns 70 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.75, for a total transaction of $303,875.00. Following the sale, the director owned 3,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,092,483.25. The trade was a 12.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 837 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.85, for a total value of $508,770.45. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 6,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,823,376.50. This trade represents a 11.74% 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 37,770 shares of company stock valued at $23,034,051. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $587.94 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.49 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.25. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $600.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $622.36. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $7.14 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s second-quarter revenue rose 28% year over year to $60.8 billion, exceeding expectations, while AI-powered recommendations and ad tools are improving user engagement and monetization. Some analysts and investors view the post-earnings selloff as an attractive entry point because the core advertising business remains strong. META Q2 Deep Dive: AI Investment Drives Engagement as Margins Face Pressure
• Positive Sentiment: Several commentaries argue that Meta’s large AI investment could support longer-term growth rather than represent wasteful spending. Optimistic analysts point to the company’s scale, advertising cash flow and potential for AI to strengthen recommendations, ad targeting and new products. 28% Revenue Growth Ignored: Why Panic-Selling Meta Stock Over Infrastructure Spend Is a Mistake
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is scheduled to participate in White House discussions with other leading AI companies about voluntary safety testing for advanced models following concerns about rogue AI agents. The meeting could improve regulatory relations, although it also highlights growing oversight risks for Meta’s AI initiatives. Meta, Anthropic, Google, OpenAI to Meet With Trump White House
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned about the scale and duration of Meta’s AI infrastructure commitments. Meta and other Big Tech companies have roughly $1.09 trillion in future payments under data-center leases, increasing fixed obligations before the spending generates returns. Meta also missed quarterly EPS expectations and issued revenue guidance below consensus, raising concerns about margin pressure and execution. AI Data-Centre Race Builds $1 Trillion Lease Burden for Big Tech

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on META shares. Benchmark started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $700.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $785.32.

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.