Everstar Asset Management LLC Invests $34.27 Million in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Everstar Asset Management LLC made a new investment of $34.27 million in Meta Platforms, acquiring 59,460 shares, which now constitutes approximately 6.4% of its investment portfolio.
• Multiple hedge funds have recently increased their stakes in Meta, with institutional investors now owning 79.91% of the company's stock.
• Wall Street analysts show strong confidence in Meta, with price targets raised by firms like Benchmark and DA Davidson, indicating a growing positive outlook for the company.

Everstar Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 59,460 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $34,270,000. Meta Platforms accounts for 6.4% of Everstar Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $20,230,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,537,000 after acquiring an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 221,459 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $129,666,000 after acquiring an additional 7,587 shares in the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 6,189 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $3,624,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Triumph Capital Management grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 1,846 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,081,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,332 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The stock was 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $775.95, for a total value of $46,557,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 237,205 shares in the company, valued at $184,059,219.75. This represents a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 282,761 shares of company stock worth $213,726,766 over the last three months. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $800.00 price target (up previously from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Roth Capital upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $740.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Loop Capital restated a "buy" rating and set a $980.00 price objective (up previously from $888.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Meta Platforms from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Three equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $822.41.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.1%

NASDAQ META traded up $1.10 during trading on Thursday, hitting $753.08. 4,192,081 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,767,485. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $479.80 and a 12 month high of $796.25. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $740.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $660.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market capitalization of $1.89 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.24, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.24.

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

Meta Platforms Profile

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.