ProVise Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 26,918 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 1,013 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises about 1.0% of ProVise Management Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. ProVise Management Group LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $15,163,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 17.4% in the first quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 18,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $10,299,000 after buying an additional 2,670 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 133,798 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $88,319,000 after acquiring an additional 18,169 shares during the last quarter. WMS Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $876,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $132,015,115,000 after acquiring an additional 7,269,279 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 625,079 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $352,101,000 after acquiring an additional 29,411 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research firms have commented on META. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $595.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $700.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Citizens Jmp lowered their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $770.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $785.22.
Meta Platforms News Summary
Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:
- Positive Sentiment: New AI model strengthens product narrative: Meta launched Muse Spark 1.3, described as its most advanced AI model, supporting the view that the company is intensifying competition with leading AI developers and could create new monetization opportunities. Meta Platforms unveils most powerful AI model
- Positive Sentiment: $18 billion settlement removes a major overhang: The settlement of lawsuits alleging harm to children provides greater legal visibility. Analysts believe limits on teen usage should have a limited effect on revenue and that resolving the case could clear the way for accelerated AI-product launches. Meta settlement could clear the way for new AI product launches
- Positive Sentiment: Valuation is attracting buyers: Articles characterize META as undervalued at roughly 16–20 times forward earnings, well below its historical valuation, despite 28% recent revenue growth and resilient user engagement. Morgan Stanley analysts see potential for substantial upside if AI improves advertising and product growth. Meta stock looks undervalued
- Positive Sentiment: Advertising outlook remains favorable: An analyst report argues that AI-powered targeting and engagement could help Meta challenge Google for leadership in digital advertising, adding to the stock’s growth appeal. Meta versus Google digital advertising outlook
- Neutral Sentiment: Analyst stance remains cautious: Wedbush reaffirmed a neutral rating with a $595 price target, suggesting limited near-term upside despite the improving legal and AI backdrop.
- Negative Sentiment: AI spending is pressuring cash flow: Meta’s latest results showed margin compression and sharply lower free cash flow as capital expenditures increased, creating concern that returns on its large AI investments may take time.
- Negative Sentiment: Trust and safety issues persist: Meta disabled cameras on thousands of AI glasses after detecting tampering with recording lights, while it also removed scam advertisements in India linked to malware and stolen banking credentials. These incidents could increase regulatory and reputational pressure.
Meta Platforms Trading Up 2.5%
Shares of META stock opened at $592.85 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week high of $790.80. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $593.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $609.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23. The company has a market cap of $1.51 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.25.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.The business had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $7.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms
In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total transaction of $4,379,184.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $462,024. The trade was a 90.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,196 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total value of $5,063,409.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,260,343.46. This represents a 41.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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 valued at $19,202,995 over the last quarter. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
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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