Rubicon Global Capital Ltd Cuts Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Rubicon Global Capital Ltd lessened its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 66,557 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,750 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 13.7% of Rubicon Global Capital Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Rubicon Global Capital Ltd’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $37,491,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tempo Wealth LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. Tempo Wealth LLC now owns 9,646 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,433,000 after buying an additional 917 shares during the period. Facet Wealth Inc. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Facet Wealth Inc. now owns 16,266 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $9,162,000 after acquiring an additional 747 shares in the last quarter. New Hampshire Trust increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 23.4% during the second quarter. New Hampshire Trust now owns 9,175 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,168,000 after acquiring an additional 1,742 shares during the period. Private Wealth Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 37.3% during the second quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 1,041 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $587,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares during the period. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.1% during the second quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 342,140 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $192,724,000 after acquiring an additional 3,754 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,196 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total value of $5,063,409.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,260,343.46. The trade was a 41.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through 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 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 sale, the insider owned 1,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $681,890.56. This trade 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 38,502 shares of company stock valued at $22,603,485. 13.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of a number of research reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $890.00 to $730.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $835.00 to $640.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Phillip Securities raised Meta Platforms to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Citizens Jmp lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $770.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Benchmark began coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $785.32.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $549.90 on Friday. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $593.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $615.41. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $520.26 and a 52-week high of $790.80. The company has a market cap of $1.40 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). The business had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $7.14 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched Pocket in the U.S., an AI-powered app that lets users create and share interactive games through text prompts. The product could increase engagement and expand Meta’s consumer AI ecosystem. Meta brings Pocket to U.S. users
• Positive Sentiment: Meta introduced a Mac app for Meta AI with system-wide dictation and screen-aware assistance. The company is also pricing its new Muse Code coding agent below Anthropic and OpenAI offerings, potentially helping it attract developers and build AI adoption. Meta AI launches Mac app
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s core advertising business remains strong, with quarterly revenue rising 28% year over year to $60.8 billion. AI-related improvements to recommendations and ad delivery are supporting engagement, clicks and conversion efficiency. Meta drawdown analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is contesting the Federal Trade Commission’s effort to revive monopoly charges. The company argues that Facebook and Instagram users increasingly see recommended content rather than posts from friends, a defense that could influence the case’s regulatory implications. Meta fights FTC monopoly charges
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta’s CTO Andrew Bosworth, CFO Susan Li and insider Curtis Mahoney sold shares worth roughly $10.3 million in aggregate under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans. The transactions are limited as discretionary signals but may still affect investor sentiment. Meta insider transaction filing
• Negative Sentiment: Child-safety and social-media addiction litigation is intensifying. Testimony alleging that some safety tools were “designed to fail” raises the possibility of major damages, mandated product changes, restrictions on engagement features and pressure on advertising monetization. Meta social media lawsuit trial
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that heavier AI capital spending will depress second-half free cash flow and increase financial pressure. Those concerns follow Meta’s quarterly EPS miss, despite its revenue beat, and have contributed to the stock’s year-to-date weakness. Meta stock investment analysis

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.