Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Purchased by University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co.

Key Points

• University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. increased its Meta stake by 33.5% in the second quarter, acquiring 6,120 shares for a total holding of 24,369 shares valued at $13.7 million.
• Meta’s institutional ownership remains high at 79.91%, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $785.22.
• Meta’s AI progress is encouraging investor sentiment, but substantial infrastructure spending, legal-settlement costs and execution risks remain concerns. The company’s latest quarter saw revenue rise 28% year over year, though earnings per share missed estimates.

University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 33.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,369 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,120 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 1.6% of University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $13,727,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. RHL Group LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Advantage Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta unveiled Muse Spark 1.3, an upgraded AI model that AI chief Alexandr Wang says delivers the company’s biggest performance improvement yet and is comparable with offerings from Anthropic and OpenAI. The announcement strengthened expectations that Meta can compete more effectively in generative AI and monetize its large user base. Meta Rises 4% as Muse Spark 1.3 Claims Parity With Anthropic and OpenAI
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts said Meta’s settlement of major social-media litigation could remove a legal overhang and accelerate the launch of new AI products. Some investors view the settlement as manageable relative to Meta’s scale and believe teen-usage restrictions may have limited revenue impact. Meta settlement could clear the way for new AI product launches, Morgan Stanley says
• Positive Sentiment: Investment commentary highlighted Meta as one of the leading “hyperscalers” supporting the AI ecosystem, with strong revenue growth, user engagement and long-term AI monetization potential. Hyperscalers are the backbone of AI
• Neutral Sentiment: Wedbush reaffirmed its Neutral rating, signaling that the AI opportunity is balanced by valuation, execution and spending concerns. Wedbush Reaffirms Neutral Rating for Meta Platforms
• Negative Sentiment: Meta reportedly agreed to pay as much as $17 billion over 10 years and make major changes to Instagram and Facebook for teen users. The settlement may reduce legal uncertainty, but its cost and potential limits on engagement create financial and operating risks. Meta Is Making These Major Changes for Teen Users After $17 Billion Settlement
• Negative Sentiment: Commentary warned that AI infrastructure spending could approach $145 billion, compressing free cash flow even as revenue grows. Investors also remain concerned about Meta’s dependence on successful AI execution to justify a recovery toward its prior high. Meta Stock Has a New AI Catalyst
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is paying users to share how they use its latest AI model, raising privacy and reputational concerns that could complicate adoption. Separately, the company disabled cameras on some AI glasses after detecting tampering with recording lights. Meta is paying to peek at how you use their latest AI model

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on META. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $780.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Benchmark restated a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $680.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $650.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $800.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $785.22.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $610.68 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $594.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $609.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $790.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The company has a market cap of $1.56 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 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 firm had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $60.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $7.14 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 828 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $462,024. This represents a 90.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total value of $2,012,047.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,498 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,708,013.06. This trade represents a 26.06% 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 90 days, insiders have sold 32,987 shares of company stock worth $19,202,995. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

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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