Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Buys 11,382 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.1% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 561,995 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 11,382 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 0.6% of Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $316,566,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $20,230,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,537,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares in the last quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 294.7% in the 1st quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd now owns 150,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $86,454,000 after purchasing an additional 112,000 shares during the last quarter. Dymon Asia Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth about $213,000. Finally, Capital & Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth about $322,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $616.77 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $790.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.57 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $596.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $609.26.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). The business 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 revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $7.14 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on META shares. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Mizuho set a $750.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Citizens Jmp reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $770.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $785.22.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta opened paid developer access to Muse Spark 1.3, with company executives and analysts claiming the model is approaching or matching offerings from Anthropic and OpenAI. Improved performance and token efficiency could support adoption in coding agents, model APIs, subscriptions and future generative-search advertising. Meta Platforms: Muse Spark 1.3 Was The Warning Shot
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage identifies Muse Spark 1.3 as a new catalyst that could improve confidence in Meta’s AI roadmap and help the company recover toward its prior highs, provided the technology translates into revenue and returns on investment. Meta Rises 4% as Muse Spark 1.3 Claims Parity with Anthropic and OpenAI
• Positive Sentiment: Some investment commentary views Meta as a major beneficiary of the ongoing AI infrastructure and computing cycle, alongside other hyperscalers, potentially creating a long-term growth opportunity. Hyperscalers Are the Backbone of AI

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 1,559 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total value of $869,922.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,957 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,092,006. This represents a 44.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 on 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,260,343.46. This trade represents 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. Insiders sold a total of 32,987 shares of company stock valued at $19,202,995 in the last three months. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

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.