74,894 Shares in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Purchased by North Dakota State Investment Board

Key Points

• North Dakota State Investment Board initiated a new Meta position in the fourth quarter, buying 74,894 shares valued at about $49.4 million. The stake now represents roughly 1.8% of its portfolio and is its 11th-largest holding.
• Meta’s latest quarterly results were strong, with EPS of $10.44 easily topping estimates and revenue of $56.31 billion beating expectations as well. Revenue rose 33.1% year over year, underscoring continued growth momentum.
• Despite bullish analyst coverage and a Moderate Buy consensus target of about $840.19, Meta is also facing mixed signals from insider selling and ongoing legal/regulatory scrutiny tied to AI, content moderation, and user safety.

North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 74,894 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $49,437,000. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.8% of North Dakota State Investment Board's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 36.8% in the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 78 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, Merrithew & Thorsten Inc acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.3%

Meta Platforms stock opened at $612.34 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.55 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $796.25. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $617.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $636.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. The business had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The business's revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.43 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total transaction of $5,589,088.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,014,978.24. The trade was a 41.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 837 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.35, for a total value of $510,025.95. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 14,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,933,071. The trade was a 5.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 95,471 shares of company stock worth $60,616,955 over the last three months. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $930.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $760.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $750.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Mizuho decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $835.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $840.19.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Investors are viewing Meta’s massive AI spending more favorably as analysts and market commentators argue the AI boom could last longer than expected, potentially strengthening the company’s competitive position. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Several recent pieces continue to frame Meta as a top long-term growth stock and a stock drawing increased investor attention, which can help reinforce bullish sentiment around the name. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is making a major workforce reduction in Washington state as part of a broader AI-driven restructuring, which may improve efficiency over time but also signals a significant internal reset. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: The company is also getting additional investor and public scrutiny around AI, jobs, and capital allocation, with commentary suggesting the market is still debating whether Meta’s heavy AI investment will pay off. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: JLens is urging shareholders to back a proposal demanding more transparency on content moderation, highlighting ongoing governance and brand-safety concerns ahead of the annual meeting. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Meta’s challenge to Vermont’s social media addiction lawsuit, keeping legal exposure alive in a case centered on alleged harms to young users. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Meta also faces a new lawsuit from Santa Clara County over allegedly scam-related AI ads, adding another regulatory and reputational overhang tied to ad practices and user safety. Article Title

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.

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