AK Global Asset Management LLC Raises Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

AK Global Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 22.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,237 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 772 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up about 2.3% of AK Global Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. AK Global Asset Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,424,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 105,292,277 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $69,502,379,000 after acquiring an additional 105,154,977 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $22,152,075,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in 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 valued at $132,015,115,000 after purchasing an additional 7,269,279 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 488.1% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,466,595 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $3,608,445,000 after purchasing an additional 4,537,076 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 90,841,345 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $59,963,463,000 after purchasing an additional 4,395,763 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing 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. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.75, for a total value of $303,875.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,443 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,092,483.25. This trade represents a 12.68% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 40,083 shares of company stock valued at $24,628,719 in the last quarter. Insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. Wolfe Research lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $765.00 to $767.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $760.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $810.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $838.26.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s latest AI push is drawing bullish attention, including the launch of Muse Spark 1.1, expanded developer access through its Model API, and reports that the company plans to start producing an in-house AI chip in September. Investors are betting these moves could lower compute costs, reduce reliance on Nvidia and AMD, and open new revenue streams beyond advertising. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Meta is also benefiting from optimism around its cloud and AI infrastructure ambitions, including a new C$13 billion data center in Alberta and commentary that the company may be building a stronger long-term “AI revenue stack” than the market currently prices in. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts and commentators are still constructive on META, with bullish notes saying the stock looks attractively valued relative to its AI growth potential and that recent weakness created an opportunity for long-term investors. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Citizens JMP trimmed its price target to $800 from $825 while maintaining an outperform rating, suggesting continued upside but a slightly more cautious near-term view on valuation and spending. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Meta faces renewed regulatory risk after the European Union said Facebook and Instagram may violate the Digital Services Act with “addictive” design features such as infinite scroll, autoplay, and push notifications, potentially exposing the company to fines and product changes. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Separate reporting also highlighted investor concern that Meta’s aggressive AI capex could pressure margins if monetization takes longer than expected, even though the market is currently rewarding the strategy. Article Title

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $669.21 on Monday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $598.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $626.85. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $796.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.69 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. The company 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%.Meta Platforms's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.43 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.63%.

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.

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