Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Position Boosted by Obermeyer Wealth Partners

Obermeyer Wealth Partners lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 79,955 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,437 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 1.8% of Obermeyer Wealth Partners' holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Obermeyer Wealth Partners' holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $45,038,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. RHL Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Advantage Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total transaction of $2,012,047.56. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 9,498 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,708,013.06. This represents a 26.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,196 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total value of $5,063,409.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at $7,260,343.46. The trade was a 41.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 34,957 shares of company stock valued at $20,442,696 in the last three months. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $571.10 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.45 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.25. The company's fifty day moving average is $592.26 and its 200-day moving average is $611.84. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $790.80.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). The business had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $7.14 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta agreed to settle claims brought by dozens of U.S. states for up to approximately $16.7 billion to $18 billion, substantially below figures that analysts and states had discussed as potentially reaching $200 billion or more. The deal ends the trial and leaves Meta’s core advertising business, personalized recommendations and targeted advertising largely intact. Meta's social media settlement leaves its money machine unscathed
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains favorable in some quarters: Rosenblatt raised its price target to $886 and maintained a buy rating, while Benchmark and Needham reiterated hold ratings. Investors also continue to point to Meta’s advertising momentum, AI infrastructure and potential to monetize excess computing capacity. Meta price target raised by Rosenblatt
• Neutral Sentiment: The settlement requires two-hour daily limits for users under 18, overnight blocking from midnight to 6 a.m. without parental consent, muted school-hour notifications, autoplay controls, stronger age checks and expanded parental controls. The measures may reduce engagement, but could also lower future regulatory and litigation risk. Meta settles federal social media addiction trial
• Negative Sentiment: The payout could equal several months of profit, and the agreement’s restrictions may pressure usage and advertising opportunities among younger users. Critics and a case whistleblower said the changes do not adequately address mental-health harms, while the settlement reportedly gives states protection from certain future lawsuits involving children’s data. Whistleblower criticizes Meta settlement
• Negative Sentiment: Regulators in the U.K., South Korea and Australia are urging Meta to apply the safeguards globally, raising the possibility of additional compliance costs and similar actions overseas. Investors are also monitoring Meta’s heavy AI spending and reports that it could spend up to $10 billion annually on Anthropic tools. South Korea urges global youth protections

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on META shares. Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $800.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Arete Research set a $735.00 price target on Meta Platforms and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $800.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $780.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $785.22.

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.

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