Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Kennedy Investment Group Inc.

Kennedy Investment Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 15.3% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,669 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,022 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.1% of Kennedy Investment Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Kennedy Investment Group Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,194,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $20,230,000 after buying an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,537,000 after buying an additional 875 shares during the period. Headwater Capital Co Ltd raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 294.7% in the first quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd now owns 150,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $86,454,000 after acquiring an additional 112,000 shares in the last quarter. Dymon Asia Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Finally, Capital & Planning LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth approximately $322,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.2%

NASDAQ:META opened at $578.02 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $592.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $611.61. The company has a market capitalization of $1.47 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.25. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $520.26 and a 52-week high of $790.80.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $7.14 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Arete Research set a $735.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price objective 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. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $766.00 to $715.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $785.22.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: The settlement limits litigation risk by resolving claims from a broad coalition of states without an admission of liability. Analysts view the payment as manageable relative to Meta’s revenue and cash generation, while the company avoids potentially disruptive court-ordered changes to products such as Reels, Stories and its recommendation systems. Meta’s social media settlement leaves its money machine unscathed
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s advertising engine continues to benefit from improved ad-ranking technology and growing advertiser use of artificial intelligence to create campaigns, supporting demand even as the company spends heavily on AI infrastructure. Ca$htag$: Meta’s AI Bet Not Showing Returns, Yet
• Positive Sentiment: Rosenblatt raised its price target to $886 and maintained a buy rating, pointing to substantial potential upside from current levels. The stock’s valuation also remains below that of many large technology peers, strengthening the bargain argument for some investors. Meta price target raised by Rosenblatt
• Neutral Sentiment: The new teen safeguards—including time limits, muted notifications and stronger parental controls—could become a regulatory template for TikTok, YouTube, Snap and international markets. This creates industrywide compliance costs, but may also give Meta greater legal clarity. Meta settlement puts social media industry on notice
• Negative Sentiment: Investors still face execution and financial risks: age-verification technology may be unreliable, critics say the protections do not address teen mental-health concerns, and regulators in the U.K., South Korea and elsewhere may demand similar measures. Restrictions could eventually reduce teen engagement and advertising opportunities. Meta’s child-safety deal and age verification
• Negative Sentiment: Meta’s substantial AI capital spending has not yet produced a proportionate revenue payoff, while an executive overseeing India and Southeast Asia is leaving for OpenAI. Those developments add to concerns about returns on investment and management stability. Meta executive leaves for OpenAI

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total transaction of $4,379,184.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $462,024. This trade represents a 90.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $561.56, for a total value of $280,780.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,943 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,652,671.08. This represents a 14.52% 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 34,957 shares of company stock worth $20,442,696 over the last 90 days. 13.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.