Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Northstar Financial Companies Inc.

Key Points

• Northstar Financial Companies Inc. reduced its stake in Meta Platforms by 26.0%, now holding 1,016 shares valued at $586,000 after selling 357 shares.
• Meta Platforms stock is currently trading at $747.38 with a market capitalization of $1.88 trillion and notable growth in its earnings, reporting $7.14 EPS, surpassing analyst estimates.
• Insider selling activity includes CFO Susan J. Li and insider Christopher K. Cox selling shares, leading to a 17.89% and 20.19% decrease in their positions respectively.

Northstar Financial Companies Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 26.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,016 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 357 shares during the period. Northstar Financial Companies Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $586,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $20,230,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,537,000 after buying an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 221,459 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $129,666,000 after buying an additional 7,587 shares in the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 6,189 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $3,624,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the period. Finally, Benchstone Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $23,749,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.9%

META stock opened at $747.38 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.88 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.06, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.27. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $479.80 and a 1-year high of $796.25. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $733.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $658.54.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.16 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,332 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $764.71, for a total transaction of $14,018,663.72. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 84,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,343,464.11. This represents a 17.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $775.95, for a total value of $46,557,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 237,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at $184,059,219.75. The trade was a 20.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 313,284 shares of company stock worth $235,008,531 over the last 90 days. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $845.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Roth Capital increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $740.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $610.00 to $900.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $822.41.

About Meta Platforms

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding META? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.