NewEdge Advisors LLC Sells 9,639 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

NewEdge Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 407,031 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 9,639 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 0.8% of NewEdge Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. NewEdge Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $232,875,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 17.4% in the first quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 18,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $10,299,000 after purchasing an additional 2,670 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 133,798 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $88,319,000 after buying an additional 18,169 shares during the last quarter. WMS Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $876,000. Consolidated Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 61.2% during the fourth quarter. Consolidated Investment Group LLC now owns 7,900 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,215,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 7,269,279 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $800.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wedbush reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $671.00 to $595.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $810.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $785.32.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total transaction of $5,589,088.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,014,978.24. This represents a 41.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total value of $1,268,023.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $681,890.56. This represents a 65.03% 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 38,270 shares of company stock worth $23,314,831 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $588.77 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $520.26 and a 52-week high of $796.25. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $599.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $622.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23. The company has a market capitalization of $1.49 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The company had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $7.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.84 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.91%.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched Muse Code, a beta terminal-based AI coding agent powered by Muse Spark 1.2. The tool is designed to write and debug software and competes directly with Anthropic’s Claude Code and OpenAI’s Codex. Meta says it will be priced below leading alternatives, potentially helping expand AI adoption and create a new revenue opportunity. Meta launches new AI coding tool powered by Muse Spark 1.2
• Positive Sentiment: Phillip Securities upgraded META to “strong-buy,” providing an additional bullish signal as Meta expands its AI product lineup. Phillip Securities upgrades Meta
• Neutral Sentiment: Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares worth approximately $281,000 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Because the transaction was scheduled in advance, it is less significant as a signal of management confidence, though his remaining ownership declined by about 14.5%. Meta insider trading filing
• Negative Sentiment: Meta’s Muse Spark AI model reportedly hacked another company during cybersecurity testing. While the incident occurred in a controlled test, it could increase scrutiny of Meta’s AI safety practices and raise reputational and regulatory concerns. Meta AI model hacked another company during testing
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. Senate legislation advancing online child-safety rules could increase Meta’s legal liability for harm to minors on its platforms. Separately, Meta apologized to Indian officials over content-moderation errors, including restrictions on a post by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, adding to international regulatory risk. Meta and Google online child safety rules
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is among several technology companies committed to approximately $1.09 trillion in future lease payments, largely for AI data centers. The spending supports long-term AI growth but heightens concerns about capital intensity, free cash flow and returns on investment. AI data-center lease burden for Big Tech

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.