Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stake Lifted by Ascent Group LLC

by · The Cerbat Gem

Ascent Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) by 36.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 50,879 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 13,528 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 1.3% of Ascent Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $29,325,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at about $33,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 102.6% during the first quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $775.95, for a total transaction of $46,557,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 237,205 shares in the company, valued at $184,059,219.75. This represents a 20.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $753.43, for a total transaction of $11,939,605.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 304,358 shares of company stock worth $228,847,292 in the last three months. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $752.45 on Monday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $479.80 and a twelve month high of $796.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $738.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $658.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.89 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.24.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $1.39. The business had revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.16 EPS. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on META. Benchmark raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $890.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $980.00 target price (up from $888.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Citizens Jmp raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $822.41.

Read Our Latest Research Report on Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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