Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Position Reduced by Erste Asset Management GmbH

Key Points

• Erste Asset Management GmbH reduced its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 9.0% during the first quarter, owning 311,160 shares valued at approximately $173.2 million at the end of the reporting period.
• In a contrasting trend, other institutional investors such as Csenge Advisory Group and Skye Global Management LP increased their holdings, showcasing varied investment strategies within the hedge fund community.
• Wall Street analysts have adjusted their target prices for Meta Platforms, with consensus forecasts indicating a strong outlook, predicting a target price average of $822.41 based on various buy ratings from multiple firms.

Erste Asset Management GmbH lessened its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 9.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 311,160 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 30,696 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 2.2% of Erste Asset Management GmbH's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Erste Asset Management GmbH's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $173,156,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Csenge Advisory Group boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 9,539 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,498,000 after purchasing an additional 1,019 shares in the last quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 170,338 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $99,735,000 after buying an additional 1,850 shares during the period. Skye Global Management LP raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 130.9% during the 4th quarter. Skye Global Management LP now owns 76,200 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $44,616,000 after buying an additional 43,200 shares during the period. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 785 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $452,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, JMG Financial Group Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth approximately $284,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 465 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $784.32, for a total value of $364,708.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,877 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,962,408.64. This trade represents a 4.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $775.00, for a total value of $402,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 32,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,533,150. This trade represents a 1.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 313,803 shares of company stock worth $235,276,424. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. TD Cowen upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $822.41.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.2%

NASDAQ META opened at $739.10 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $728.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $657.34. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $479.80 and a one year high of $796.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 1.97. The company has a market cap of $1.86 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.60%.

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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