Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stock Position Increased by Bridgeway Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Bridgeway Capital Management LLC has increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 6.7%, making it the fund's largest holding at a value of approximately $37 million.
• Meta Platforms reported a 21.6% increase in revenue for the most recent quarter, amounting to $47.52 billion, significantly surpassing analyst estimates.
• Despite the strong performance, Zacks Research downgraded Meta Platforms from a "strong-buy" to a "hold" rating, while other firms raised their price targets, with an average consensus price target of $822.41.

Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 6.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 64,208 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,015 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 0.9% of Bridgeway Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $37,007,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 102.6% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $783.00 to $811.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Zacks Research lowered Meta Platforms from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $740.00 to $840.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $812.00 to $897.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $920.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Three investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $822.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,332 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 84,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at $64,343,464.11. This represents a 17.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $775.95, for a total value of $46,557,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 237,205 shares in the company, valued at $184,059,219.75. This trade represents a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 312,341 shares of company stock worth $234,443,690 in the last three months. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded up $3.80 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $752.45. 9,655,823 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,390,477. The company's 50 day moving average price is $738.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $659.37. The firm has a market cap of $1.89 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.24, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 1.97. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $479.80 and a 52 week high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced 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 company had revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.16 EPS. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities analysts expect 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.