Meta Platforms, Inc. $META is Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab's 7th Largest Position

Key Points

• Danica Pension trimmed its Meta position by 0.6%, selling 1,626 shares but retaining 262,615 shares valued at approximately $147.9 million. Meta represents about 2.4% of the fund’s portfolio and is its seventh-largest holding.
• Meta’s AI expansion is attracting investor optimism: its Muse AI agent reportedly gained rapid app-store traction, while JPMorgan upgraded the stock to Overweight with an $820 price target. However, monetization, privacy, regulatory and AI-execution risks remain concerns.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with Meta carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $787.54. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, while recent earnings beat revenue expectations but missed consensus EPS estimates.

Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab trimmed its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 0.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 262,615 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 1,626 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 2.4% of Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab's portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $147,928,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in META. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% in 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 buying an additional 105,154,977 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $22,152,075,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 488.1% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,466,595 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $3,608,445,000 after buying an additional 4,537,076 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.1% in 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 acquiring an additional 4,395,763 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 56.2% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 10,043,955 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $6,629,913,000 after acquiring an additional 3,613,211 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Muse gains early consumer traction: Meta’s new AI agent reportedly reached No. 2 or No. 3 on the U.S. App Store shortly after its launch. Muse can interact with social platforms and outside services, while paid tiers priced at $20 and $100 per month create a potential new revenue stream beyond advertising. Meta's AI agent Muse is now the No. 2 app in the US
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan upgraded the stock: JPMorgan raised Meta to Overweight from Neutral and increased its price target to $820, citing meaningful growth potential from frontier AI models and agentic products. The upgrade helped reinforce the bullish view that Meta can diversify beyond advertising. JPMorgan upgrades Meta on AI models and agents
• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure optionality: Analysts believe Meta’s large AI-compute investments could eventually support a cloud-computing or infrastructure business, adding an opportunity not currently reflected in the valuation. The company’s strong revenue growth and substantial cash resources support this investment thesis.
• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly dividend declared: Meta announced a $0.525-per-share dividend payable September 28 to shareholders of record September 21. While the yield is modest, the payout signals confidence in ongoing cash generation.
• Neutral Sentiment: Legal settlement viewed as manageable: Commentary suggests Meta’s potential $18 billion social-media-addiction settlement, spread over a decade, may have a limited impact on annual free cash flow. Resolving the litigation could also remove an overhang, but the headline liability remains material.
• Negative Sentiment: Monetization and privacy concerns: Muse’s usefulness depends on access to users’ inboxes, accounts and payments, raising adoption and privacy questions. Analysts remain uncertain about conversion rates and near-term revenue.
• Negative Sentiment: AI execution and regulatory risks: A prominent AI researcher is leaving Meta for Anthropic, while an internal effort to capture employee screens for AI training reportedly triggered resistance. Meta is also discussing possible teen social-media restrictions in South Korea, and TikTok rejected Meta advertisements urging participation in a child-safety settlement.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 1,559 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total transaction of $869,922.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,957 shares in the company, valued at $1,092,006. This trade represents a 44.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $650.28, for a total transaction of $13,005,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 244,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $159,003,864.48. The trade was a 7.56% 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. Insiders sold a total of 61,581 shares of company stock valued at $37,512,295 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on META shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $890.00 to $730.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Citizens Jmp lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $770.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating and set a $800.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $787.54.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $648.03 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $1.65 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $790.80. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $601.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $608.94.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $7.14 EPS. Research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

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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