Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Bought by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Key Points

• Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its Meta stake by 10.4% in the second quarter, purchasing 73,049 additional shares. It now owns 777,021 shares valued at approximately $437.7 million, representing 1.3% of its portfolio.
• Institutional investors remain heavily involved, owning approximately 79.91% of Meta’s outstanding shares, while several other investment firms initiated new positions during the period.
• Meta shares opened at $576.14 and were trading up 1.1%; the company recently reported revenue growth of 28% year over year but missed quarterly earnings expectations. Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $785.32.

Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 777,021 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 73,049 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up about 1.3% of Retirement Systems of Alabama's holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Retirement Systems of Alabama's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $437,688,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in META. RHL Group LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Advantage Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Settlement ends a high-profile trial and reduces legal uncertainty. Meta agreed to pay up to roughly $16.7 billion–$18 billion to settle claims brought by dozens of states alleging that Facebook and Instagram harmed or misled young users. Investors appear to prefer a defined cost over the possibility of much larger damages or an adverse trial ruling. The payout is substantial but reportedly equivalent to only several months of Meta’s profits. Reuters settlement report
• Positive Sentiment: Restrictions are less disruptive than a fundamental business overhaul. The agreement requires measures including two-hour daily limits for teenage users, overnight blocking, muted school-hour notifications, autoplay controls, parental tools and stronger age verification. However, Meta is not required to abandon personalized recommendations or targeted advertising, preserving the core of its advertising model. Associated Press settlement report
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors continue to highlight Meta’s advertising and AI potential. A bullish analysis points to improving ad-ranking algorithms, rising ad impressions and pricing, strong network effects and Meta’s AA- credit rating. Evercore ISI also sees possible future revenue from excess AI-computing capacity as Meta expands its data-center infrastructure. These catalysts compete with concerns that the stock has declined in recent months and remains below its longer-term moving averages. Invezz AI infrastructure analysis
• Negative Sentiment: The settlement creates meaningful financial and regulatory costs. The maximum payment could reach $18 billion, while usage limits may reduce teen engagement and potentially weaken future advertising data and impressions. Reports also question whether Meta’s age-verification technology works reliably, and the company’s final obligations could become stricter if TikTok, YouTube and other competitors adopt similar safeguards. Meta still faces thousands of additional youth-related lawsuits. TechCrunch age-verification report

Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.1%

Meta Platforms stock opened at $576.14 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $1.47 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $592.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $612.48. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $790.80. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The firm had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $7.14 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total transaction of $2,012,047.56. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 9,498 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,708,013.06. This represents a 26.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total transaction of $4,379,184.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $462,024. This trade represents a 90.46% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 34,957 shares of company stock worth $20,442,696. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $800.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Meta Platforms from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Benchmark began coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Scotiabank restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $785.32.

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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