Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Purchased by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its Meta stake by 3.0% in the second quarter, acquiring 37,929 additional shares for a total of 1.31 million shares valued at approximately $739 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.91% of Meta.
• Meta insiders sold shares recently: COO Javier Olivan and CFO Susan Li sold stock under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, contributing to $19.2 million in insider sales over the past 90 days.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, but earnings were mixed. Meta has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $785.22, while its latest quarterly EPS of $6.18 missed estimates despite 28% year-over-year revenue growth.

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 3.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,311,864 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 37,929 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 1.6% of Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp's holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned 0.05% of Meta Platforms worth $738,960,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 1,258 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total transaction of $754,800.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,517 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $910,200. This represents a 45.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing 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 9,196 shares of Meta Platforms 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,260,343.46. This trade represents a 41.09% decrease in their position. 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 have sold a total of 32,987 shares of company stock worth $19,202,995 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on META shares. Mizuho set a $750.00 price objective on Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $763.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $883.00 to $886.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price objective 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $785.22.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $616.77 on Tuesday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $597.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $608.89. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week high of $790.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.57 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released 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 in the prior year, the company earned $7.14 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Legal settlement may reduce uncertainty. Jim Cramer said Meta is attractively valued after a settlement eased a major legal overhang. Investors may view the resolution of litigation as improving visibility, even though the settlement carries a substantial cost. Jim Cramer Says Meta Is At the Price
• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure investment highlights long-term growth potential. Meta’s large Louisiana AI data-center project is generating local economic activity and underscores the company’s commitment to expanding computing capacity for AI products and services. The investment could support future monetization, although it also implies significant capital spending. Meta AI Data Center Louisiana Economy
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention remains elevated. Meta is trending among Zacks users, while broader coverage continues to focus on its AI strategy, advertising business and valuation. This may increase trading interest but does not represent a new fundamental catalyst by itself. Meta Trending Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Teen-safety settlement creates a major financial and regulatory burden. Reports say Meta agreed to pay up to $18 billion to resolve claims that its platforms contributed to a teen mental-health crisis. The payment could pressure cash flow and reinforce concerns about increased oversight of social-media companies, despite removing litigation uncertainty. Meta Teen Safety Settlement
• Negative Sentiment: AI governance scrutiny is intensifying. The United Nations reportedly issued a sharper warning regarding AI governance, putting pressure on Meta to address safety, accountability and potential misuse as its AI operations expand. New rules or compliance costs could weigh on future returns. Meta AI Quarter and UN Governance Warning
• Negative Sentiment: Facial-recognition lawsuit adds privacy risk. Meta is facing a suit alleging that facial-recognition technology was used to train smart-glasses systems. The claims could create additional legal costs, reputational damage and scrutiny of Meta’s wearable-AI ambitions. Meta Facial Recognition Lawsuit

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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