Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.

Key Points

• Sumitomo Life Insurance reduced its Meta stake by 3.6% in the second quarter, selling 1,652 shares and retaining 44,583 shares valued at approximately $25.1 million.
• Institutional investors own about 79.9% of Meta’s shares, while insiders sold 60,183 shares worth roughly $36.7 million during the latest quarter, including sales by COO Javier Olivan and Curtis J. Mahoney under Rule 10b5-1 plans.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and average price target of $788.88; Meta shares opened at $670.24, while the company reported 28% year-over-year quarterly revenue growth despite missing EPS estimates.

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. decreased its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,583 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 1,652 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 0.4% of Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.'s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $25,113,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in META. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 18.6% during the 2nd quarter. Fairtree Asset Management Pty Ltd now owns 18,777 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $10,577,000 after purchasing an additional 2,939 shares during the period. Abbot Financial Management Inc. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 53.5% in the 2nd quarter. Abbot Financial Management Inc. now owns 2,845 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $1,603,000 after purchasing an additional 991 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 17.4% in the first quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 18,000 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $10,299,000 after purchasing an additional 2,670 shares during the period. WMS Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $876,000. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.9% during the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 625,079 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $352,101,000 after buying an additional 29,411 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,838 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $616.71, for a total value of $1,750,222.98. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 11,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,192,072.02. The trade was a 19.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 1,559 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total transaction of $869,922.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,957 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,092,006. This represents a 44.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 sold 60,183 shares of company stock valued at $36,673,495 in the last quarter. 13.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: New Meta One subscriptions could create recurring AI revenue. Meta introduced plans ranging from individual to creator and business tiers, priced from $2.99 to $499 per month, offering expanded access to AI image, video and editing tools across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Meta AI. The initiative gives investors a clearer path to monetizing AI beyond advertising. Reuters article on Meta One subscriptions
• Positive Sentiment: AI agents are being integrated into WhatsApp Business. Businesses will be able to use third-party AI agents to set up and manage customer messaging, potentially increasing WhatsApp’s commercial utility and supporting higher business adoption and revenue. TechCrunch article on WhatsApp Business AI agents
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains broadly favorable. Recent coverage highlights bullish views tied to Meta’s Muse AI platform, improving advertising performance and the company’s valuation relative to growth. One report says 55 analysts covering Meta have no sell ratings, while Goldman Sachs has identified further upside potential. Analyst coverage article
• Positive Sentiment: Meta reportedly plans camera-free smart glasses. The internally named Luna glasses could broaden Meta’s wearables strategy while addressing privacy concerns associated with cameras, although launch details remain unconfirmed. Reuters article on Meta’s camera-free smart glasses
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta said it will directly report child-safety cases to India’s cybercrime portal, a move that could improve regulatory cooperation but also underscores continuing scrutiny of its platforms. Article on Meta’s child-safety reporting in India
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and legal risks remain significant. California’s restrictions on certain youth-targeted advertising practices and a lawsuit involving alleged facial-recognition features in Meta’s smart glasses could increase legal costs and limit product functionality. Article on Meta’s regulatory risks
• Negative Sentiment: Investors continue to debate whether Meta’s aggressive AI infrastructure commitments will generate sufficient returns, particularly if interest rates remain elevated. A recent SEC filing also disclosed an insider sale worth approximately $13 million, which may weigh modestly on sentiment. Analysis of Meta’s AI spending

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on META shares. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $800.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $725.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $700.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $883.00 to $886.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Four research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $788.88.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $670.24 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $603.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $609.04. 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 firm has a market cap of $1.71 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.24, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $790.80.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted 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). The firm had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $7.14 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 21st. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is presently 7.91%.

Meta Platforms Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc develops technologies that help people connect, communicate and build communities online. The company's principal products include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and digital communication.

Meta generates most of its business through advertising displayed across its family of apps. It also develops artificial intelligence technologies, business messaging tools and hardware and software through its Reality Labs division, including Quest virtual- and mixed-reality devices and related experiences.

The company was founded as Facebook in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg and was renamed Meta Platforms in 2021 to reflect its broader focus on building the metaverse.

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