Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 41,480 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,961 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.0% of Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $23,365,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Meta Platforms by 17.4% in the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 18,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $10,299,000 after purchasing an additional 2,670 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH grew its position 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 valued at $88,319,000 after purchasing an additional 18,169 shares in the last quarter. WMS Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $876,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $132,015,115,000 after purchasing an additional 7,269,279 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.9% in the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 625,079 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $352,101,000 after buying an additional 29,411 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 1,559 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 1,957 shares in the company, valued at $1,092,006. The trade was a 44.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $462,024. This represents a 90.46% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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 90 days. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $750.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Barclays decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $780.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $835.00 to $640.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Meta Platforms from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $725.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Four 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $785.22.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts see Meta’s AI investments improving ad targeting and engagement, potentially allowing the company to challenge Google for digital-advertising leadership. The strong advertising outlook is particularly important after Meta’s latest quarter delivered 28% year-over-year revenue growth to $60.8 billion. Meta versus Google advertising analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Several reports characterize META as undervalued, citing a forward P/E of roughly 16—well below its historical average—and arguing that legal clarity plus new AI products could support substantial upside. The settlement may remove a major overhang even though it carries a large financial charge. Meta valuation and AI upside analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush reaffirmed a Neutral rating but raised or maintained a $595 price target, implying modest upside from the referenced trading level. Separately, the planned IPO of Meta-backed Indian telecom operator Jio Platforms could improve the value and liquidity of an important investment. Meta market news Jio Platforms IPO approval
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is switching internal communications from Google Chat to Slack because management considers Slack better suited to AI agents. The move highlights Meta’s push to integrate AI into operations but is not expected to materially change near-term financial results. Meta switches to Slack
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta-backed AI startup Manus said it has resumed independent operations after China blocked Meta’s proposed acquisition. This removes some uncertainty around the transaction but also means Meta will not immediately gain full ownership of the startup. Manus resumes independent operations
• Negative Sentiment: The approximately $17 billion–$18 billion settlement over alleged harm to children creates a substantial cash cost and requires stronger age verification, potentially increasing compliance expenses and reducing young-user engagement. Critics also question whether the agreement will resolve regulatory pressure. Meta child-safety settlement requirements
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Meta spent heavily on AI infrastructure underscore depreciation and capital-expenditure risks: investors must determine whether the spending will generate enough incremental advertising and product revenue. Meta also removed dozens of India-based malware advertisements, highlighting continuing platform-safety and reputational risks. Big Tech AI spending risks Meta removes fraudulent India ads

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $578.54 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $520.26 and a 52-week high of $790.80. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $592.78 and a 200 day moving average of $609.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.47 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.25. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The firm had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $7.14 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms 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.