HM Payson & Co. Has $87.45 Million Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

HM Payson & Co. trimmed its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 11.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 155,257 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 20,408 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 1.2% of HM Payson & Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $87,455,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of META. RHL Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Bayban boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of META stock opened at $545.83 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $593.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $615.87. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $790.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.39 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.56, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted 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). Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.The business had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $7.14 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 7.91%.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched Pocket in the United States, an AI-powered app that lets users create and share interactive games through prompts. The rollout could expand Meta’s consumer AI ecosystem and generate new engagement opportunities. Meta brings Pocket to US users
• Positive Sentiment: Meta also introduced a Mac version of Meta AI with system-wide dictation and screen-context capabilities. Separately, an analyst argued that the company’s substantial AI investments could unlock significant future revenue, supporting the long-term growth case. Meta AI launches Mac app
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth, CFO Susan Li and insider Curtis Mahoney disclosed stock sales totaling roughly $10.3 million. Each transaction was conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, reducing its significance as a discretionary signal of management’s outlook, although the clustered sales may draw investor attention. Meta insider transaction filing
• Negative Sentiment: A federal trial involving California and 28 other states is intensifying. Former Meta employee Arturo Béjar testified that certain safety tools were “designed to fail,” reinforcing allegations that Facebook and Instagram were deliberately made addictive and that risks to young users were inadequately addressed. A loss could bring large penalties, mandated product changes and potential pressure on engagement and advertising monetization. Former employee testifies about Meta safety tools
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that elevated AI infrastructure spending could weigh on second-half free cash flow, particularly after Meta’s recent earnings-per-share miss. The legal case, which some reports associate with potential liabilities reaching hundreds of billions of dollars or more, adds substantial downside risk to a stock already trading below its longer-term moving averages. Meta trial adds risk to stock

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total value of $2,012,047.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,498 shares in the company, valued at $5,708,013.06. This trade represents a 26.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,196 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at $7,260,343.46. This trade represents a 41.09% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 38,502 shares of company stock valued at $22,603,485. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of a number of research reports. Phillip Securities upgraded Meta Platforms to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $785.00 price target (down from $800.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $700.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Wedbush decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $671.00 to $595.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $1,015.00 to $883.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $785.32.

Meta Platforms Company 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.