Sciencast Management LP Takes $2.12 Million Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Posted by Brenda Bartman on Aug 26th, 2026

Sciencast Management LP bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 3,758 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,117,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. RHL Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Advantage Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $680.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Wedbush lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $671.00 to $595.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Barclays dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $780.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $650.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $785.32.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $570.05 on Wednesday. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $592.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $613.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.45 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $790.80.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $7.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.91%.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 1,258 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total transaction of $754,800.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,517 shares in the company, valued at $910,200. The trade was a 45.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total value of $869,922.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,957 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,092,006. The trade was a 44.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 34,957 shares of company stock worth $20,442,696 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

Positive Sentiment: Meta is reportedly preparing to launch Hatch, a consumer AI agent that could let users browse Reddit, order from DoorDash, shop on Etsy, access Yelp and manage Outlook within Meta’s ecosystem. The product could increase engagement with Meta’s platforms and strengthen its position in consumer AI. Reddit Stock Is Up, What You Need to Know
Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to point to accelerating advertising growth, AI-powered ad tools, rising user engagement and increased advertiser adoption as factors helping Meta outperform social-media rivals Reddit and Snap. META Rides on Ad Growth
Positive Sentiment: Former OpenAI researcher Luke Metz has joined Meta’s Superintelligence Labs and will report to AI chief Alexandr Wang. The hire supports Meta’s effort to build advanced AI capabilities, although the financial benefits are longer term. Luke Metz Joins Meta’s Superintelligence Labs
Neutral Sentiment: Reports highlighted substantial Meta insider-trading activity during August, including notable transactions on August 18. The article did not establish whether the activity represented buying or selling, limiting its immediate stock-price significance. Monster Insider Trading Alert for Meta Stock
Negative Sentiment: Instagram chief Adam Mosseri is testifying in a lawsuit brought by 29 states alleging that Meta designed Instagram and Facebook to be addictive to children while downplaying safety risks. An adverse outcome could create regulatory, redesign and financial costs. Instagram Head Adam Mosseri to Testify at Meta Trial

Meta Platforms Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.