Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Ascentis Independent Advisors

Key Points

• Ascentis Independent Advisors nearly exited Meta Platforms, cutting its stake by 99.6% in the second quarter to just 64 shares worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors overall still own about 79.91% of Meta’s stock.
• Meta reported quarterly revenue of $60.80 billion, up 28% year over year and above estimates, but earnings per share of $6.18 missed the $7.19 consensus forecast.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $785.22, although several firms recently lowered their targets. Company insiders also sold nearly $20.4 million in stock during the last quarter.

Ascentis Independent Advisors lessened its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 99.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 64 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 15,923 shares during the quarter. Ascentis Independent Advisors' holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $36,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. RHL Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Advantage Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $578.02 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $790.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The business's fifty day moving average price is $592.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $611.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.47 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The firm had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $7.14 EPS. The business's revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.5 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,260,343.46. This trade represents a 41.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total value of $4,379,184.00. Following the sale, 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 position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 34,957 shares of company stock worth $20,442,696 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: The settlement limits litigation risk by resolving claims from a broad coalition of states without an admission of liability. Analysts view the payment as manageable relative to Meta’s revenue and cash generation, while the company avoids potentially disruptive court-ordered changes to products such as Reels, Stories and its recommendation systems. Meta's social media settlement leaves its money machine unscathed
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s advertising engine continues to benefit from improved ad-ranking technology and growing advertiser use of artificial intelligence to create campaigns, supporting demand even as the company spends heavily on AI infrastructure. Ca$htag$: Meta's AI Bet Not Showing Returns, Yet
• Positive Sentiment: Rosenblatt raised its price target to $886 and maintained a buy rating, pointing to substantial potential upside from current levels. The stock’s valuation also remains below that of many large technology peers, strengthening the bargain argument for some investors. Meta price target raised by Rosenblatt
• Neutral Sentiment: The new teen safeguards—including time limits, muted notifications and stronger parental controls—could become a regulatory template for TikTok, YouTube, Snap and international markets. This creates industrywide compliance costs, but may also give Meta greater legal clarity. Meta settlement puts social media industry on notice
• Negative Sentiment: Investors still face execution and financial risks: age-verification technology may be unreliable, critics say the protections do not address teen mental-health concerns, and regulators in the U.K., South Korea and elsewhere may demand similar measures. Restrictions could eventually reduce teen engagement and advertising opportunities. Meta's child-safety deal and age verification
• Negative Sentiment: Meta’s substantial AI capital spending has not yet produced a proportionate revenue payoff, while an executive overseeing India and Southeast Asia is leaving for OpenAI. Those developments add to concerns about returns on investment and management stability. Meta executive leaves for OpenAI

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on META. Wedbush decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $671.00 to $595.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $763.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $780.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $883.00 to $886.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $700.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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