Meta Platforms, Inc. $META is Acadian Asset Management LLC's 6th Largest Position

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC significantly increased its stake in Meta Platforms, raising its holdings by 250.8% during the first quarter, making it the firm’s 6th largest position with 1,361,460 shares valued at approximately $784.66 million.
• Wall Street analysts have a largely positive outlook with recent price target increases, with Barclays setting a new high at $810.00 and the average consensus price target estimated at $822.41 per share.
• Insider trading activities indicated a decrease in positions among executives, with significant sales reported, including Jennifer Newstead selling shares worth about $376,923.75 and Andrew Bosworth selling shares worth $9,062,850.00.

Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 250.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,361,460 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 973,372 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises about 2.2% of Acadian Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned 0.05% of Meta Platforms worth $784,661,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 102.6% during the first quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on META. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $810.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $783.00 to $811.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $822.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $726.25, for a total value of $376,923.75. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 31,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,173,185. The trade was a 1.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 11,694 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $775.00, for a total value of $9,062,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 1,799 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,394,225. The trade was a 86.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 282,244 shares of company stock worth $213,336,095 in the last quarter. Insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.8%

META stock opened at $765.70 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.92 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $479.80 and a 12 month high of $796.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $739.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $660.03.

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

Meta Platforms Company 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.

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