Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Has $2.66 Billion Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its Meta stake by 14.2% in the second quarter, adding 588,258 shares to reach 4.72 million shares valued at approximately $2.66 billion. Meta represents about 1.5% of the fund’s portfolio, while institutional investors collectively own 79.91% of the stock.
• Meta’s AI initiatives are creating both optimism and concern: the Muse assistant has quickly gained popularity, and custom MTIA chips could potentially save $8.5 billion in 2027, but analysts are divided over monetization, while surging AI infrastructure spending has sharply reduced free cash flow.
• Despite a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average analyst price target of $788.88, Meta shares recently fell 2.4% amid profit-taking, valuation concerns, legal and reputational pressure, and insider selling. The company reported 28% year-over-year revenue growth to $60.8 billion, though quarterly EPS of $6.18 missed estimates.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 14.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,721,204 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 588,258 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.5% of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned about 0.19% of Meta Platforms worth $2,659,407,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 174.1% during the 2nd quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda now owns 120,563 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $67,912,000 after purchasing an additional 76,570 shares during the last quarter. Nicholas Investment Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,576,000. RDST Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 41.2% in the second quarter. RDST Capital LLC now owns 140,667 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $79,236,000 after buying an additional 41,037 shares in the last quarter. White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 13.3% in the second quarter. White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,890 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,065,000 after buying an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lakewood Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 63.7% during the second quarter. Lakewood Capital Management LP now owns 115,985 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $65,333,000 after buying an additional 45,130 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s Muse personal AI agent reached No. 1 on Apple’s U.S. free-app chart, surpassing ChatGPT roughly one week after launch. Its ability to handle shopping, bookings, email and phone calls could give Meta a significant consumer-AI growth platform and strengthen the case for future subscriptions or commerce revenue. Meta's Muse tops Apple's US free app chart
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America said Meta’s internally developed MTIA AI chips could save approximately $8.5 billion in 2027 by reducing reliance on third-party processors. Custom silicon could improve the economics of Meta’s expanding AI infrastructure over time. Meta Can Save $8.5 Billion in 2027 by Using Its Own MTIA Chips
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support and upcoming product announcements remain potential catalysts. Rosenblatt reiterated a Buy rating, while investors are looking ahead to Meta Connect on September 23 for additional AI, glasses and subscription details. Meta Earns Buy Rating from Rosenblatt Securities
• Neutral Sentiment: Muse’s early popularity is encouraging, but analysts disagree on its financial impact. The generous free tier may accelerate adoption while delaying revenue and increasing computing costs; consumer distrust of Meta and the need to provide sensitive account data could also limit paid conversion. Meta’s Muse Agent Has Wall Street Divided on Its AI Potential
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are taking profits after META rose roughly 23%–24% over the past month. Valuation and expectations have risen quickly, increasing sensitivity to any evidence that AI spending will not generate near-term earnings growth.
• Negative Sentiment: Meta’s AI investment program is placing significant pressure on cash flow. Articles highlighted a more than 90% decline in free cash flow as capital expenditures rise, raising concerns about the payback period for data centers, chips and other infrastructure. Meta Versus Oracle: AI Capex Payback Velocity
• Negative Sentiment: Legal and reputational pressure is increasing. A German court held Meta liable for fraudulent third-party ads, while regulators and its Oversight Board criticized safeguards against deepfakes and nonconsensual filming involving its smart glasses. These issues could increase compliance costs and threaten user trust. German Court Rules Meta Liable for Fake Ads
• Negative Sentiment: Chief Product Officer Christopher Cox sold 20,000 shares worth approximately $13.5 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The planned nature reduces the signal, but the sale may still weigh modestly on sentiment. SEC Insider Trading Filing

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on META shares. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $650.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $835.00 to $810.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $780.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Four 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $788.88.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of META opened at $665.75 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $790.80. The firm has a market cap of $1.70 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.25. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $606.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $609.79. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.The company had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $7.14 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 21st. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,196 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total transaction of $5,063,409.56. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 1,559 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,092,006. This trade represents a 44.34% 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 81,758 shares of company stock worth $51,214,020 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc develops technologies that help people connect, communicate and build communities online. The company's principal products include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and digital communication.

Meta generates most of its business through advertising displayed across its family of apps. It also develops artificial intelligence technologies, business messaging tools and hardware and software through its Reality Labs division, including Quest virtual- and mixed-reality devices and related experiences.

The company was founded as Facebook in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg and was renamed Meta Platforms in 2021 to reflect its broader focus on building the metaverse.

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