Maridea Wealth Management LLC Grows Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Maridea Wealth Management increased its Meta position by 15% in the second quarter, ending with 8,359 shares valued at approximately $4.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.91% of Meta’s stock.
• Meta insiders sold 32,987 shares worth about $19.2 million over the past 90 days, including significant sales by CTO Andrew Bosworth and insider Curtis Mahoney under pre-arranged trading plans.
• Meta’s latest quarterly revenue rose 28% year over year to $60.8 billion, exceeding estimates, but EPS of $6.18 missed the $7.19 consensus. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $785.22, compared with shares recently trading near $616.77.

Maridea Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 15.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,359 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,093 shares during the period. Maridea Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $4,709,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of META. RHL Group LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Advantage Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total transaction of $4,379,184.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 828 shares of the company's stock, valued at $462,024. The trade was a 90.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Curtis Mahoney sold 1,559 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total value of $869,922.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,092,006. The trade was a 44.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 32,987 shares of company stock valued at $19,202,995. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $616.77 on Tuesday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $597.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $608.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.57 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.23, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $790.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.The company had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $7.14 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Legal settlement may reduce uncertainty. Jim Cramer said Meta is attractively valued after a settlement eased a major legal overhang. Investors may view the resolution of litigation as improving visibility, even though the settlement carries a substantial cost. Jim Cramer Says Meta Is At the Price
• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure investment highlights long-term growth potential. Meta’s large Louisiana AI data-center project is generating local economic activity and underscores the company’s commitment to expanding computing capacity for AI products and services. The investment could support future monetization, although it also implies significant capital spending. Meta AI Data Center Louisiana Economy
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention remains elevated. Meta is trending among Zacks users, while broader coverage continues to focus on its AI strategy, advertising business and valuation. This may increase trading interest but does not represent a new fundamental catalyst by itself. Meta Trending Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Teen-safety settlement creates a major financial and regulatory burden. Reports say Meta agreed to pay up to $18 billion to resolve claims that its platforms contributed to a teen mental-health crisis. The payment could pressure cash flow and reinforce concerns about increased oversight of social-media companies, despite removing litigation uncertainty. Meta Teen Safety Settlement
• Negative Sentiment: AI governance scrutiny is intensifying. The United Nations reportedly issued a sharper warning regarding AI governance, putting pressure on Meta to address safety, accountability and potential misuse as its AI operations expand. New rules or compliance costs could weigh on future returns. Meta AI Quarter and UN Governance Warning
• Negative Sentiment: Facial-recognition lawsuit adds privacy risk. Meta is facing a suit alleging that facial-recognition technology was used to train smart-glasses systems. The claims could create additional legal costs, reputational damage and scrutiny of Meta’s wearable-AI ambitions. Meta Facial Recognition Lawsuit

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $800.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Scotiabank restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Mizuho set a $750.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $680.00 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 given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $785.22.

Meta Platforms Company 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.

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