Meta Platforms, Inc. $META is Strs Ohio's 8th Largest Position

Key Points

• Strs Ohio trimmed its Meta stake by 9% in the fourth quarter, selling 80,926 shares. Even after the reduction, Meta remained the fund’s 8th-largest holding, valued at about $539.8 million.
• Meta’s latest earnings were strong, with quarterly EPS of $10.44 beating estimates and revenue rising 33.1% year over year to $56.31 billion. Analysts still view the stock favorably overall, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price around $840.31.
• The company continues to face regulatory and legal pressure, including a lawsuit over scam ads and a court setback in Europe over compensation to Italian publishers. At the same time, Meta is pushing ahead with AI initiatives, such as deeper AI integration in Threads and talks with EU regulators over WhatsApp access for rival chatbots.

Strs Ohio lowered its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 817,782 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 80,926 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 2.0% of Strs Ohio's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Strs Ohio's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $539,810,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.8% during 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.9% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $64,158,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,650,435 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 39,247,690 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $28,823,375,000 after purchasing an additional 278,180 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,153,754 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $12,597,374,000 after purchasing an additional 142,229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.1% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,332,168 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $10,525,258,000 after purchasing an additional 558,792 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: One bullish analysis argues Meta is attractively priced for a recession scenario, citing 33% year-over-year revenue growth, strong operating margins, and the potential for long-term margin expansion as AI investments drive efficiency. Why Meta Is My Top Pick: Priced For A Recession With Massive Upside
• Positive Sentiment: Meta is testing deeper AI integration in Threads, which could improve engagement and strengthen its product ecosystem over time. Threads tests a Meta AI integration that works similarly to Grok
• Positive Sentiment: Meta offered rival AI chatbots temporary free access to WhatsApp as part of talks with EU antitrust regulators, suggesting the company is actively trying to reduce regulatory friction in Europe. Meta offers rival AI chatbots free access to WhatsApp month
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles discuss Meta’s role in the broader attention economy and compare its platform model with earlier media strategies, but these are not immediate stock catalysts. Ted Turner built the original infinite scroll
• Negative Sentiment: Santa Clara County filed a lawsuit accusing Meta of profiting from scam ads on Facebook and Instagram, adding to concerns about ad quality, moderation, and legal exposure. California county sues Meta over scam ads
• Negative Sentiment: Meta also lost a court fight in Europe over compensation for Italian publishers, reinforcing ongoing regulatory and content-rights risks. Meta loses court fight over compensation to Italian publishers
• Negative Sentiment: Fresh reports and lawsuits alleging scam ads targeting seniors, along with investigations into Meta’s board oversight and privacy/AI practices, could keep sentiment under pressure if they broaden. Meta Faces Fresh Controversy Over Facebook Scam Ads

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. DA Davidson upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $750.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Guggenheim cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $835.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Four investment 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $840.31.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META opened at $603.00 on Wednesday. The business's 50-day moving average is $624.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $642.58. The company has a market capitalization of $1.53 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The company had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.43 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th were paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.63%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total value of $1,748,612.10. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 10,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,645,103.65. This trade represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total transaction of $36,471,323.70. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 167,676 shares of company stock valued at $107,299,848. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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