Nicholas Company Inc. Purchases 6,475 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Nicholas Company increased its Meta Platforms position by 5.4% in the second quarter, purchasing 6,475 shares for a total of 125,815 shares valued at approximately $70.9 million. Meta represents 1.3% of the fund’s portfolio.
• Institutional investors own approximately 79.9% of Meta’s stock, while several other funds also increased their holdings during recent quarters.
• Meta’s latest quarterly revenue rose 28% year over year to $60.8 billion but earnings per share of $6.18 fell short of estimates. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with an average price target of $785.22.

Nicholas Company Inc. raised its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 125,815 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 6,475 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 1.3% of Nicholas Company Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Nicholas Company Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $70,870,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 17.4% in the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 18,000 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $10,299,000 after purchasing an additional 2,670 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 133,798 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $88,319,000 after purchasing an additional 18,169 shares during the period. WMS Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $876,000. Czech National Bank raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.9% in the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 625,079 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $352,101,000 after buying an additional 29,411 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 118,460 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $78,195,000 after buying an additional 2,871 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta opened paid developer access to Muse Spark 1.3, with company executives and analysts claiming the model is approaching or matching offerings from Anthropic and OpenAI. Improved performance and token efficiency could support adoption in coding agents, model APIs, subscriptions and future generative-search advertising. Meta Platforms: Muse Spark 1.3 Was The Warning Shot
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage identifies Muse Spark 1.3 as a new catalyst that could improve confidence in Meta’s AI roadmap and help the company recover toward its prior highs, provided the technology translates into revenue and returns on investment. Meta Rises 4% as Muse Spark 1.3 Claims Parity with Anthropic and OpenAI
• Positive Sentiment: Some investment commentary views Meta as a major beneficiary of the ongoing AI infrastructure and computing cycle, alongside other hyperscalers, potentially creating a long-term growth opportunity. Hyperscalers Are the Backbone of AI

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $616.77 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $596.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $609.05. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month high of $790.80. The company has a market capitalization of $1.57 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.23, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). The firm had revenue of $60.80 billion during 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 revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $7.14 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $561.56, for a total value of $280,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,943 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,652,671.08. The trade was a 14.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 1,559 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total transaction of $869,922.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,092,006. This trade represents a 44.34% 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 32,987 shares of company stock worth $19,202,995 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $750.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $750.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $890.00 to $730.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Meta Platforms to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Four equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.

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