Spirepoint Private Client LLC Raises Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Spirepoint Private Client LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 63.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,536 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,312 shares during the quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $4,808,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of META. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 17.4% during the 1st 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 period. WMS Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $876,000. Czech National Bank lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.9% during the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 625,079 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $352,101,000 after purchasing an additional 29,411 shares in the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 118,460 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $78,195,000 after buying an additional 2,871 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Xponance LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 528,966 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $349,165,000 after acquiring an additional 30,793 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Curtis Mahoney sold 1,559 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total transaction of $869,922.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,957 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,092,006. This represents a 44.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total transaction of $2,012,047.56. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 9,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,708,013.06. The trade was a 26.06% 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 32,987 shares of company stock valued at $19,202,995. 13.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Legal settlement may reduce uncertainty. Jim Cramer said Meta is attractively valued after a settlement eased a major legal overhang. Investors may view the resolution of litigation as improving visibility, even though the settlement carries a substantial cost. Jim Cramer Says Meta Is At the Price
• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure investment highlights long-term growth potential. Meta’s large Louisiana AI data-center project is generating local economic activity and underscores the company’s commitment to expanding computing capacity for AI products and services. The investment could support future monetization, although it also implies significant capital spending. Meta AI Data Center Louisiana Economy
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention remains elevated. Meta is trending among Zacks users, while broader coverage continues to focus on its AI strategy, advertising business and valuation. This may increase trading interest but does not represent a new fundamental catalyst by itself. Meta Trending Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Teen-safety settlement creates a major financial and regulatory burden. Reports say Meta agreed to pay up to $18 billion to resolve claims that its platforms contributed to a teen mental-health crisis. The payment could pressure cash flow and reinforce concerns about increased oversight of social-media companies, despite removing litigation uncertainty. Meta Teen Safety Settlement
• Negative Sentiment: AI governance scrutiny is intensifying. The United Nations reportedly issued a sharper warning regarding AI governance, putting pressure on Meta to address safety, accountability and potential misuse as its AI operations expand. New rules or compliance costs could weigh on future returns. Meta AI Quarter and UN Governance Warning
• Negative Sentiment: Facial-recognition lawsuit adds privacy risk. Meta is facing a suit alleging that facial-recognition technology was used to train smart-glasses systems. The claims could create additional legal costs, reputational damage and scrutiny of Meta’s wearable-AI ambitions. Meta Facial Recognition Lawsuit

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $616.77 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.57 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.25. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $597.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $608.89. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $790.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) 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). The firm had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $7.14 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on META. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $650.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $780.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $835.00 to $640.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $883.00 to $886.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $785.22.

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.