ProShare Advisors LLC Purchases 729,921 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• ProShare Advisors LLC increased its Meta Platforms stake by 55% in the fourth quarter, buying 729,921 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 2,057,231 shares worth about $1.36 billion.
• Meta’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $10.44 versus $6.67 expected and revenue of $56.31 billion, up 33.1% year over year.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on META, with an average Moderate Buy rating and a consensus price target of about $840.19, even as some targets were trimmed.

ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 55.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,057,231 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 729,921 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 2.4% of ProShare Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. ProShare Advisors LLC owned 0.08% of Meta Platforms worth $1,357,958,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. First National Bank Sioux Falls lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 2,001 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,321,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 984 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $649,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the second quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $794,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.9% during the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 539 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $396,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arcataur Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Arcataur Capital Management LLC now owns 1,736 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,146,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total transaction of $4,769,642.01. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 414 shares in the company, valued at $251,641.62. The trade was a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 837 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.35, for a total transaction of $510,025.95. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 14,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,933,071. The trade was a 5.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 95,471 shares of company stock worth $60,616,955 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Arete Research restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $908.00 to $865.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "buy" rating and issued a $1,015.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Guggenheim dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $840.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $840.19.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 3.7%

META stock opened at $635.26 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $796.25. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $617.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $636.82. The firm has a market cap of $1.61 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.09, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.43 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.49 EPS for the current year.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched subscription plans for Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and AI users, opening a new recurring-revenue stream and giving investors a clearer path beyond ads. Meta launches Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp subscriptions, with more to come, including AI plans
• Positive Sentiment: Meta is also testing paid AI subscription tiers, signaling another monetization lever for its fast-growing AI products. Meta to start testing AI subscription services, with cheapest plan at $7.99 a month
• Positive Sentiment: CEO Mark Zuckerberg said a Meta cloud computing business is “definitely on the table” if the company ends up with excess data-center capacity, hinting at a possible long-term expansion into a large enterprise market. Mark Zuckerberg says a Meta cloud computing business 'definitely on the table'
• Positive Sentiment: Reports said Meta’s ad business remains strong, with AI features improving engagement and pricing power, reinforcing the company’s core earnings engine. META Rides on Solid Momentum in Ad Business: A Sign of More Upside?
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually heavy call-option buying suggests traders are positioning for more upside, but it does not by itself change fundamentals.
• Negative Sentiment: The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Meta’s appeal in a Vermont social-media addiction case, allowing a legal challenge over teen safety and app design to proceed. US Supreme Court won't hear Meta's challenge to Vermont social media addiction lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: Meta also faces fresh scrutiny from a Santa Clara County lawsuit alleging it profited from scam ads, adding to regulatory and legal overhangs. Santa Clara Lawsuit Tests Meta’s AI Ad Model And Governance Balance

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.

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.