Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Purchased by North Dakota State Investment Board

Key Points

• North Dakota State Investment Board increased its Meta position by 2.6% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 64,930 shares valued at approximately $36.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.91% of Meta’s stock.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with Meta carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $785.22, despite several recent target-price reductions.
• Meta reported quarterly revenue of $60.8 billion, up 28% year over year, but earnings per share of $6.18 missed estimates of $7.19. Meanwhile, insiders sold nearly 33,000 shares worth about $19.2 million over the past 90 days.

North Dakota State Investment Board raised its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 2.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 64,930 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,663 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.5% of North Dakota State Investment Board's holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. North Dakota State Investment Board's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $36,574,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. RHL Group LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on META. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $750.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Wedbush reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $595.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $785.22.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta opened paid developer access to Muse Spark 1.3, with company executives and analysts claiming the model is approaching or matching offerings from Anthropic and OpenAI. Improved performance and token efficiency could support adoption in coding agents, model APIs, subscriptions and future generative-search advertising. Meta Platforms: Muse Spark 1.3 Was The Warning Shot
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage identifies Muse Spark 1.3 as a new catalyst that could improve confidence in Meta’s AI roadmap and help the company recover toward its prior highs, provided the technology translates into revenue and returns on investment. Meta Rises 4% as Muse Spark 1.3 Claims Parity with Anthropic and OpenAI
• Positive Sentiment: Some investment commentary views Meta as a major beneficiary of the ongoing AI infrastructure and computing cycle, alongside other hyperscalers, potentially creating a long-term growth opportunity. Hyperscalers Are the Backbone of AI

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $561.56, for a total value of $280,780.00. Following the sale, the director owned 2,943 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,652,671.08. This represents a 14.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total value 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 32,987 shares of company stock valued at $19,202,995. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $616.77 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.57 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.23, a PEG ratio of 1.07 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 company's 50-day moving average price is $596.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $609.26. 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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.The business had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $7.14 EPS. The business's revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

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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