Garde Capital Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Garde Capital Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 31.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,317 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,388 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up about 0.4% of Garde Capital Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Garde Capital Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $8,065,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $132,015,115,000 after buying an additional 7,269,279 shares in the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 105,292,277 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $69,502,379,000 after buying an additional 105,154,977 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 90,841,345 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $59,963,463,000 after buying an additional 4,395,763 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 52,806,712 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $34,734,628,000 after acquiring an additional 878,396 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 39,558,637 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $26,112,735,000 after acquiring an additional 310,947 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on META. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $750.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $835.00 to $810.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $883.00 to $886.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Arete Research set a $735.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $835.00 to $640.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $785.22.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $572.34 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $1.46 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.25. The business's 50 day moving average price is $592.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $610.45. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $790.80.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). The company had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $7.14 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s AI strategy remains a potential long-term catalyst. Analysts point to its roughly $60 billion AI investment program as a way to improve ad targeting, monetization and possibly challenge Google in search and digital advertising. Meta's $60 Billion AI Machine Could Dethrone Google Search by Year-End
• Positive Sentiment: Meta-backed Indian telecom operator Jio Platforms received regulatory approval for an initial public offering. A successful listing could provide a valuation reference for Meta’s investment and highlight the value of its strategic holdings. Meta- and Google-backed Indian telecom operator Jio Platforms gets regulatory nod for IPO
• Positive Sentiment: Some investment commentary describes META as undervalued after its shares fell well below their prior record, citing second-quarter revenue growth of 28% to $60.8 billion and the potential for a recovery. Prediction: Meta Stock Reclaims Its All-Time High Before 2029
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta has begun removing fraudulent advertisements in India that used explicit content to distribute malware. The action limits immediate user risk but underscores continuing challenges in ad-quality enforcement and platform trust. Meta removes ads for fraud apps posing as porn after India sounds alarm
• Negative Sentiment: Meta agreed to an approximately $17 billion to $18 billion settlement with U.S. states over allegations that its platforms harmed children and teens. The agreement requires stronger age verification and other safeguards, creating a substantial financial cost and potentially higher compliance expenses. Explainer: Settlement requires Meta to check young users' ages
• Negative Sentiment: Research claiming Temu spent as much as $962 million on advertising tied to fake creators raises additional concerns about content moderation, advertiser oversight and reputational risk on Meta’s platforms. Temu spent up to $962 million on ads that helped finance an army of fake creators on Meta platforms

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 1,559 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total transaction of $869,922.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,092,006. This represents a 44.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 1,258 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total transaction of $754,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,517 shares of the company's stock, valued at $910,200. This trade represents a 45.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 32,987 shares of company stock valued at $19,202,995. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Meta Platforms

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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