Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Purchased by Woodline Partners LP

Key Points

• Woodline Partners LP increased its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 6.2% in Q1, now owning 575,881 shares valued at approximately $331.9 million, making it Meta's largest shareholder.
• Meta Platforms reported Q2 earnings of $7.14 per share, significantly exceeding analysts' expectations of $5.75 and indicating a 21.6% year-over-year revenue increase to $47.52 billion.
• Analysts have a Moderate Buy rating on Meta with an average price target of $822.41, with some firms raising their targets up to $875.00.

Woodline Partners LP raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 6.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 575,881 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 33,708 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 2.2% of Woodline Partners LP's portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Woodline Partners LP's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $331,915,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. grew its stake 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. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the subject of a number of research reports. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $810.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $795.00 to $875.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $822.41.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.0%

NASDAQ:META opened at $752.30 on Tuesday. 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 fifty-two week low of $479.80 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25. The stock's 50-day moving average is $738.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $659.29. The stock has a market cap of $1.89 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.24.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.16 earnings per share. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $726.25, for a total transaction of $376,923.75. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 31,908 shares in the company, valued at $23,173,185. The trade was a 1.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $726.25, for a total transaction of $375,471.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 12,094 shares in the company, valued at $8,783,267.50. This trade represents a 4.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 290,046 shares of company stock worth $218,812,787. Insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms 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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