MBL Wealth LLC Sells 3,117 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

MBL Wealth LLC reduced its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 33.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,271 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 3,117 shares during the period. MBL Wealth LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,532,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 105,292,277 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $69,502,379,000 after acquiring an additional 105,154,977 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at about $22,152,075,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $132,015,115,000 after purchasing an additional 7,269,279 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 488.1% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,466,595 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,608,445,000 after purchasing an additional 4,537,076 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 90,841,345 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $59,963,463,000 after purchasing an additional 4,395,763 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer owned 9,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,708,013.06. The trade was a 26.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 company’s stock in a transaction dated 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. This trade represents 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 17,772 shares of company stock valued at $10,823,658. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $568.97 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $595.62 and its 200 day moving average is $619.31. 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 $1.45 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.43, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month 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 analysts’ expectations of $60.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $7.14 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced 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. Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Mizuho set a $750.00 target price on Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $680.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $700.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued 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 price target of $785.32.

Key Headlines 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?

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.