Clough Capital Partners L P reduced its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) by 67.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,677 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 39,376 shares during the period. Clough Capital Partners L P’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $10,686,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. RHL Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Bayban lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 100.0% during the first quarter. Bayban now owns 70 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Key Capital Management INC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Meta Platforms Stock Down 8.0%
NASDAQ META opened at $539.03 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $796.25. The company has a 50 day moving average of $602.23 and a 200-day moving average of $623.44. The company has a market cap of $1.36 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.30, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.25.
Meta Platforms Announces Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.63%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 837 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.85, for a total value of $508,770.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 6,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,823,376.50. The trade was a 11.74% 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, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.75, for a total transaction of $303,875.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,092,483.25. This represents a 12.68% 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 quarter, insiders have sold 39,325 shares of company stock valued at $23,979,087. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
META has been the topic of several research reports. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $785.00 target price (down from $800.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $835.00 to $640.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Arete Research set a $735.00 price target on Meta Platforms and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Benchmark assumed coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $725.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $789.95.
View Our Latest Research Report on META
Meta Platforms News Roundup
Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Revenue increased 28% year over year to $60.8 billion, exceeding Wall Street expectations, while advertising demand, impressions, pricing and AI-powered recommendations remained strong. Instagram time spent also grew by double digits. META’s Q2 Earnings Miss Estimates, Revenues Rise Y/Y on Ad Growth
- Positive Sentiment: Several analysts retained bullish ratings despite reducing price targets. UBS, Baird, Citi, Truist and other firms still see substantial upside, suggesting the selloff may have improved Meta’s valuation appeal if advertising growth continues. Analyst price-target updates
- Positive Sentiment: Management said AI is improving ad performance, content recommendations and enterprise products, while new applications and potential AI-agent businesses could create additional monetization opportunities. META Q2 Earnings Call Highlights AI Expansion Strategy
- Neutral Sentiment: Meta is exploring ways to lease or sell excess computing capacity, including possible enterprise AI opportunities. This could generate revenue from infrastructure investment, but the company must balance external sales with its own model-development needs. Zuckerberg lays out Meta’s AI capacity dilemma
- Negative Sentiment: Adjusted earnings were $6.18 per share, well below estimates near $7.2 and down from $7.14 a year earlier. Legal expenses of about $2.4 billion and severance costs of roughly $1.2 billion contributed to the miss, but operating expenses also rose substantially.
- Negative Sentiment: Meta maintained an aggressive AI investment plan, forecasting 2026 capital expenditures of $130 billion to $145 billion. Operating cash flow of $31.9 billion was almost entirely consumed by capital spending, leaving approximately $784 million after capex. Meta Generated $31.9 Billion in Operating Cash Flow Last Quarter
- Negative Sentiment: Future lease obligations, largely tied to AI data centers, rose 53% in three months to $279 billion. Investors are questioning whether advertising growth and future AI services will generate adequate returns on this commitment. Meta’s future AI data center lease obligations
- Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue guidance of $61 billion to $64 billion was viewed as soft relative to the $63.2 billion consensus, reinforcing concerns that spending and margin pressure may persist. Reality Labs also posted a loss exceeding $4.6 billion.
- Negative Sentiment: Meta’s weakness contrasted with Microsoft’s strong Azure and Copilot results, which gave investors clearer evidence that AI spending is producing returns. This comparison intensified the market’s skepticism toward Meta’s less-defined AI monetization timeline. Meta tanks nearly 9%, Microsoft jumps 8% as the AI trade splits 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.
Featured Articles
- Five stocks we like better than Meta Platforms
- Microsoft Just Flipped the AI Spending Narrative Overnight
- Qualcomm’s Turnaround Is Working, So Why Is Wall Street Selling?
- Meta’s Earnings Show Why Wall Street Is Losing Patience With AI Spending
- Can Starbucks Keep This Turnaround Going? The Latest Results Say Yes
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding META? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report).
Receive News & Ratings for Meta Platforms Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Meta Platforms and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
