33,284 Shares in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Acquired by Caxton Associates LLP

Key Points

• Caxton Associates LLP has acquired a new position in Meta Platforms, Inc., purchasing 33,284 shares worth approximately $19.18 million, making Meta 0.7% of their holdings.
• Meta's CFO, Susan J. Li, sold 18,332 shares for about $14 million, resulting in a 17.89% decrease in her position, while CEO Mark Zuckerberg also recently sold shares totaling around $11.94 million.
• Analysts have issued mixed reviews on Meta's stock, with ratings ranging from "Strong Buy" to "Hold" and an average target price of $822.41.

Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 33,284 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $19,184,000. Meta Platforms makes up 0.7% of Caxton Associates LLP's holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 67,172.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 23,452,665 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $13,517,178,000 after buying an additional 23,417,803 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at $2,990,544,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 712.2% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,537,631 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,462,589,000 after acquiring an additional 2,225,186 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $1,162,918,000. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 23.5% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 7,733,061 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $4,111,050,000 after acquiring an additional 1,470,070 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,332 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $764.71, for a total transaction of $14,018,663.72. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 84,141 shares in the company, valued at $64,343,464.11. The trade was a 17.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $753.43, for a total transaction of $11,939,605.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 304,358 shares of company stock valued at $228,847,292 in the last quarter. Insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.5%

Meta Platforms stock opened at $752.45 on Monday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $738.39 and its 200-day moving average is $658.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 1.97. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $479.80 and a 1 year high of $796.25. The company has a market cap of $1.89 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.24, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.24.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.75 by $1.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.99% and a return on equity of 39.33%. The business had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.16 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $783.00 to $811.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Zacks Research cut shares of Meta Platforms from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Loop Capital reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $980.00 price objective (up previously from $888.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $822.41.

About Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc engages in the development of products that enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality headsets, and wearables worldwide. It operates in two segments, Family of Apps and Reality Labs. The Family of Apps segment offers Facebook, which enables people to share, discuss, discover, and connect with interests; Instagram, a community for sharing photos, videos, and private messages, as well as feed, stories, reels, video, live, and shops; Messenger, a messaging application for people to connect with friends, family, communities, and businesses across platforms and devices through text, audio, and video calls; and WhatsApp, a messaging application that is used by people and businesses to communicate and transact privately.

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