Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by First National Bank of Hutchinson

First National Bank of Hutchinson reduced its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 32.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,498 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 1,707 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 1.1% of First National Bank of Hutchinson's portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. First National Bank of Hutchinson's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,970,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $132,015,115,000 after buying an additional 7,269,279 shares during the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 105,292,277 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $69,502,379,000 after acquiring an additional 105,154,977 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 90,841,345 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $59,963,463,000 after acquiring an additional 4,395,763 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 52,806,712 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $34,734,628,000 after acquiring an additional 878,396 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 39,558,637 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $26,112,735,000 after purchasing an additional 310,947 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on META shares. Benchmark reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, August 27th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $780.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Arete Research set a $735.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $800.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $766.00 to $715.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $785.22.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 2.5%

META stock opened at $592.85 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $593.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $609.41. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $790.80. The company has a market capitalization of $1.51 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.The business had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $7.14 EPS. Meta Platforms's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $561.56, for a total transaction of $280,780.00. Following the sale, the director owned 2,943 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,652,671.08. This represents a 14.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,196 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total value of $5,063,409.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,260,343.46. This trade represents a 41.09% 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. Insiders sold 32,987 shares of company stock valued at $19,202,995 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: New AI model strengthens product narrative: Meta launched Muse Spark 1.3, described as its most advanced AI model, supporting the view that the company is intensifying competition with leading AI developers and could create new monetization opportunities. Meta Platforms unveils most powerful AI model
• Positive Sentiment: $18 billion settlement removes a major overhang: The settlement of lawsuits alleging harm to children provides greater legal visibility. Analysts believe limits on teen usage should have a limited effect on revenue and that resolving the case could clear the way for accelerated AI-product launches. Meta settlement could clear the way for new AI product launches
• Positive Sentiment: Valuation is attracting buyers: Articles characterize META as undervalued at roughly 16–20 times forward earnings, well below its historical valuation, despite 28% recent revenue growth and resilient user engagement. Morgan Stanley analysts see potential for substantial upside if AI improves advertising and product growth. Meta stock looks undervalued
• Positive Sentiment: Advertising outlook remains favorable: An analyst report argues that AI-powered targeting and engagement could help Meta challenge Google for leadership in digital advertising, adding to the stock’s growth appeal. Meta versus Google digital advertising outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst stance remains cautious: Wedbush reaffirmed a neutral rating with a $595 price target, suggesting limited near-term upside despite the improving legal and AI backdrop.
• Negative Sentiment: AI spending is pressuring cash flow: Meta’s latest results showed margin compression and sharply lower free cash flow as capital expenditures increased, creating concern that returns on its large AI investments may take time.
• Negative Sentiment: Trust and safety issues persist: Meta disabled cameras on thousands of AI glasses after detecting tampering with recording lights, while it also removed scam advertisements in India linked to malware and stolen banking credentials. These incidents could increase regulatory and reputational pressure.

Meta Platforms 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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