Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Bought by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems increased its Meta Platforms stake by 16.5% in the fourth quarter, ending with 658,974 shares valued at about $435 million. Meta is now its 6th-largest holding and makes up roughly 2.6% of the portfolio.
• Other major institutions also added to Meta, including Vanguard and State Street, while institutional investors overall own 79.91% of the company. This suggests continued broad demand from large funds despite recent market volatility.
• Analysts remain generally positive on META with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $840.19, though several firms recently trimmed targets. The company also posted strong quarterly results, with $10.44 EPS and revenue of $56.31 billion, both above expectations.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 16.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 658,974 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 93,178 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 2.6% of VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $434,982,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $132,015,115,000 after buying an additional 7,269,279 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $64,158,971,000 after buying an additional 1,650,435 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,191,175,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $813,994,000. Finally, Concentrum Wealth Management lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 948.7% during the 3rd quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management now owns 1,243,577 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $913,000 after buying an additional 1,124,998 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on META. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $725.00 price target (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $910.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Pivotal Research cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $930.00 to $910.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $750.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $840.19.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta settled the first U.S. school-district case tied to youth mental health and social media addiction, reducing the risk of an immediate trial and showing some willingness to resolve major litigation. Reuters: Meta settles first US case over school costs tied to youth mental health
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to argue that Meta’s heavy AI investment could support future growth and profitability, with one bullish note calling the stock undervalued relative to its AI opportunity. Seeking Alpha: Meta Platforms: A Call Option On The AI Race
• Neutral Sentiment: Zuckerberg said he does not expect more companywide layoffs this year, but the cuts themselves and the reassignment of workers into AI roles suggest a continued restructuring rather than a clear earnings boost. Reuters: Meta CEO tells employees he does not expect more company-wide layoffs this year
• Negative Sentiment: Texas sued Meta and WhatsApp over alleged privacy and encryption misrepresentations, increasing regulatory and legal risk for META. Reuters: Texas sues Meta, WhatsApp over encryption privacy claims
• Negative Sentiment: Investor focus remains on Meta’s large AI capex and the limited financial impact of layoffs, keeping pressure on the stock as markets question whether spending will translate into stronger returns soon. MarketBeat: Meta Platforms 10% Layoff Raises a Bigger Question About AI Spending

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 represents a 20.83% 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 link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total transaction of $36,471,323.70. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 152,728 shares of company stock valued at $96,925,217 over the last ninety days. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $607.38 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $618.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $637.18. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $796.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.54 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.43 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.49 EPS for the current year.

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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