Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Bought by Point72 Europe London LLP

Key Points

• Point72 Europe London LLP increased its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 137% in the first quarter, now holding approximately $96 million worth of shares, making it their largest investment.
• Meta reported $7.14 EPS for the last quarter, significantly exceeding predictions, with revenue growth of 21.6% compared to the same period last year.
• Recent analysts' reports on Meta have seen target prices lifted, with a consensus target of $822.41 and ratings suggesting it is a Moderate Buy.

Point72 Europe London LLP lifted its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 137.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 166,606 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 96,311 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 6.6% of Point72 Europe London LLP's holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Point72 Europe London LLP's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $96,025,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 67,172.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 23,452,665 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $13,517,178,000 after purchasing an additional 23,417,803 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.3% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,669,795 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $10,184,163,000 after acquiring an additional 400,927 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 15,575,962 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $8,977,361,000 after acquiring an additional 1,255,546 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 12,007,308 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $7,030,399,000 after acquiring an additional 280,357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.5% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,041,171 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,787,329,000 after acquiring an additional 247,850 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,332 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $764.71, for a total transaction of $14,018,663.72. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 84,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $64,343,464.11. This represents a 17.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 11,694 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $775.00, for a total transaction of $9,062,850.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 1,799 shares in the company, valued at $1,394,225. This trade represents a 86.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 312,767 shares of company stock worth $234,716,347. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on META shares. Loop Capital restated a "buy" rating and issued a $980.00 price objective (up previously from $888.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $860.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC raised Meta Platforms from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. HSBC upgraded Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $610.00 to $900.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $685.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $822.41.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META traded down $3.59 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $735.11. 9,294,340 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,485,708. The company's 50 day moving average price is $736.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $657.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.85 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.62, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.24. 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 52-week low of $479.80 and a 52-week high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $1.39. The business had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.55 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.99% and a return on equity of 39.33%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.16 EPS. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

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.