Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Ascent Group LLC

Key Points

• Ascent Group LLC reduced its Meta Platforms stake by 6.5% in the second quarter, selling 3,735 shares and retaining 53,501 shares valued at approximately $30.1 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own about 79.9% of Meta’s stock.
• Meta insiders have also been selling shares, including CTO Andrew Bosworth’s $4.4 million sale and COO Javier Olivan’s $2.0 million sale. Insiders sold 32,987 shares worth roughly $19.2 million over the past three months.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $785.22, despite recent target reductions and Meta’s quarterly earnings-per-share miss.

Ascent Group LLC trimmed its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 53,501 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 3,735 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up about 0.9% of Ascent Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $30,137,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. RHL Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Advantage Trust Co purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total value of $4,379,184.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $462,024. This trade represents a 90.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total value of $2,012,047.56. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,498 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,708,013.06. The trade was a 26.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 32,987 shares of company stock worth $19,202,995. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on META. Monness Crespi & Hardt dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $890.00 to $730.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $750.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $763.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Arete Research set a $735.00 target price on Meta Platforms and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $785.22.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 3.0%

NASDAQ META opened at $610.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23. The firm has a market cap of $1.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.00, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $594.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $609.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $790.80.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). The business had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.Meta Platforms's quarterly revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $7.14 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta unveiled Muse Spark 1.3, an upgraded AI model that AI chief Alexandr Wang says delivers the company’s biggest performance improvement yet and is comparable with offerings from Anthropic and OpenAI. The announcement strengthened expectations that Meta can compete more effectively in generative AI and monetize its large user base. Meta Rises 4% as Muse Spark 1.3 Claims Parity With Anthropic and OpenAI
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts said Meta’s settlement of major social-media litigation could remove a legal overhang and accelerate the launch of new AI products. Some investors view the settlement as manageable relative to Meta’s scale and believe teen-usage restrictions may have limited revenue impact. Meta settlement could clear the way for new AI product launches, Morgan Stanley says
• Positive Sentiment: Investment commentary highlighted Meta as one of the leading “hyperscalers” supporting the AI ecosystem, with strong revenue growth, user engagement and long-term AI monetization potential. Hyperscalers are the backbone of AI
• Neutral Sentiment: Wedbush reaffirmed its Neutral rating, signaling that the AI opportunity is balanced by valuation, execution and spending concerns. Wedbush Reaffirms Neutral Rating for Meta Platforms
• Negative Sentiment: Meta reportedly agreed to pay as much as $17 billion over 10 years and make major changes to Instagram and Facebook for teen users. The settlement may reduce legal uncertainty, but its cost and potential limits on engagement create financial and operating risks. Meta Is Making These Major Changes for Teen Users After $17 Billion Settlement
• Negative Sentiment: Commentary warned that AI infrastructure spending could approach $145 billion, compressing free cash flow even as revenue grows. Investors also remain concerned about Meta’s dependence on successful AI execution to justify a recovery toward its prior high. Meta Stock Has a New AI Catalyst
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is paying users to share how they use its latest AI model, raising privacy and reputational concerns that could complicate adoption. Separately, the company disabled cameras on some AI glasses after detecting tampering with recording lights. Meta is paying to peek at how you use their latest AI model

Meta Platforms Profile

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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