Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stake Boosted by Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC

Key Points

• Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 8.1%, acquiring an additional 2,238 shares, bringing its total to 29,915 shares worth approximately $17.24 million.
• Meta's recently reported quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, with an EPS of $7.14, significantly higher than the analyst consensus of $5.75, alongside a 21.6% year-over-year revenue increase.
• Several investment analysts have raised their price targets for Meta, with notable increases from Oppenheimer to $870.00 and from Bank of America to $900.00, reflecting a strong buy sentiment among analysts.

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 8.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,915 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 2,238 shares during the period. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $17,242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 23,417,803 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth $2,990,544,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,225,186 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $1,162,918,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 15,575,962 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $8,977,361,000 after purchasing an additional 1,255,546 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of META stock traded down $3.59 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $735.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,294,340 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,485,708. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $737.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $658.50. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $479.80 and a 12-month high of $796.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.85 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.24.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. 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 note on Monday, July 28th. Loop Capital reissued a "buy" rating and set a $980.00 price target (up previously from $888.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Roth Capital increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $740.00 to $840.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $810.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $822.41.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $753.43, for a total value of $11,939,605.21. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,332 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 84,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at $64,343,464.11. This trade represents a 17.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 312,767 shares of company stock worth $234,716,347. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.