Saiph Capital LLC Buys 1,826 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Saiph Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 76.0% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,228 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,826 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 0.7% of Saiph Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Saiph Capital LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,382,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in META. First National Bank Sioux Falls lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 2,001 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,321,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the second quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $794,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Arcataur Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Arcataur Capital Management LLC now owns 1,736 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,146,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acorn Creek Capital LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC now owns 2,118 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,398,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META stock opened at $571.10 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $592.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $611.84. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week high of $790.80. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $1.45 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). The firm had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $7.14 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.5 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on META shares. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $810.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, June 1st. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $835.00 to $640.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $890.00 to $730.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $785.22.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta agreed to settle claims brought by dozens of U.S. states for up to approximately $16.7 billion to $18 billion, substantially below figures that analysts and states had discussed as potentially reaching $200 billion or more. The deal ends the trial and leaves Meta’s core advertising business, personalized recommendations and targeted advertising largely intact. Meta’s social media settlement leaves its money machine unscathed
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains favorable in some quarters: Rosenblatt raised its price target to $886 and maintained a buy rating, while Benchmark and Needham reiterated hold ratings. Investors also continue to point to Meta’s advertising momentum, AI infrastructure and potential to monetize excess computing capacity. Meta price target raised by Rosenblatt
• Neutral Sentiment: The settlement requires two-hour daily limits for users under 18, overnight blocking from midnight to 6 a.m. without parental consent, muted school-hour notifications, autoplay controls, stronger age checks and expanded parental controls. The measures may reduce engagement, but could also lower future regulatory and litigation risk. Meta settles federal social media addiction trial
• Negative Sentiment: The payout could equal several months of profit, and the agreement’s restrictions may pressure usage and advertising opportunities among younger users. Critics and a case whistleblower said the changes do not adequately address mental-health harms, while the settlement reportedly gives states protection from certain future lawsuits involving children’s data. Whistleblower criticizes Meta settlement
• Negative Sentiment: Regulators in the U.K., South Korea and Australia are urging Meta to apply the safeguards globally, raising the possibility of additional compliance costs and similar actions overseas. Investors are also monitoring Meta’s heavy AI spending and reports that it could spend up to $10 billion annually on Anthropic tools. South Korea urges global youth protections

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total value of $4,379,184.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 828 shares in the company, valued at $462,024. This trade represents a 90.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total value of $5,063,409.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,260,343.46. The trade was a 41.09% 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 34,957 shares of company stock worth $20,442,696. 13.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Company 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.