Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stock Acquired by State Street Corp

Key Points

• State Street increased its Meta stake by 4% in the second quarter, purchasing 3.51 million additional shares. It now owns about 92 million shares, representing 3.61% of Meta and approximately $51.8 billion in value.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own approximately 79.91% of Meta’s shares, while insiders have sold 151,882 shares worth about $103 million over the past 90 days under pre-arranged trading plans.
• Meta continues to attract optimism over its AI expansion and advertising opportunities, with analysts maintaining a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $787.86, despite concerns over heavy AI spending, competition and monetization risks.

State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 92,033,963 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,510,123 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.0% of State Street Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. State Street Corp owned approximately 3.61% of Meta Platforms worth $51,841,811,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Watchman Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the first quarter. Watchman Group Inc. now owns 5,091 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $2,913,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Penney Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.9% in the first quarter. Penney Financial LLC now owns 399 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $228,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.0% during the first quarter. Barnes Pettey Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $869,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the first quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC now owns 985 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $564,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tenzing Financial LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Tenzing Financial LLC now owns 1,210 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $726,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s free Muse personal AI agent has reportedly surpassed 5 million downloads, reinforcing the company’s lead in consumer AI. JPMorgan says Meta’s free-access strategy could pressure subscription-based rivals and potentially create a valuable new advertising and commerce channel. Zuckerberg's Free AI Agent Hit 5 Million Downloads
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and commentators remain optimistic that Meta can convert AI adoption into revenue. The company is expanding its Muse platform for small businesses, linking AI tools with advertising, sales and operations, which could improve ad targeting and accelerate advertiser spending. META Expands Muse for Small Businesses
• Positive Sentiment: A recent analyst upgrade helped support the stock, while strategists describe Meta as a potential beneficiary of the next phase of the AI trade because it is using AI to strengthen an existing advertising business rather than relying solely on infrastructure spending. Meta Stock Jumps Following Analyst Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Meta reportedly signed a $27 billion AI-capacity agreement with Nebius, highlighting continued demand for computing resources and the company’s commitment to scaling its AI capabilities. Nebius Group Signs AI Capacity Deal with Meta
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta’s strong September performance reflected enthusiasm over Muse, which reportedly outpaced ChatGPT in Apple’s App Store downloads. However, investors are now focused on how quickly the company can monetize the service and whether the recent rally has already priced in much of the good news. Meta Stock Enjoys Best Month on AI Momentum
• Negative Sentiment: OpenAI’s launch of Dots introduces a significant competitor in personal AI agents. Google, Apple and other startups are also entering the market, raising questions about customer retention, pricing and the cost of defending Muse’s early lead. OpenAI Follows Meta into Personal AI Agents
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned about Meta’s more than $130 billion AI investment program, declining free cash flow and the possibility that data-center capacity will eventually exceed demand. A report also questioned the company’s use of tax credits for AI data-center costs, creating potential tax and reputational exposure. How Meta Uses AI Data Centers to Avoid Federal Taxes
• Negative Sentiment: Reports of insider selling, including transactions by CEO Mark Zuckerberg and COO Javier Olivan under a pre-arranged trading plan, may weigh modestly on sentiment, although the sales do not necessarily indicate deteriorating fundamentals. Meta Platforms Insider Sold Shares
• Negative Sentiment: Meta has also disputed claims that Muse accessed private messages without permission. Even if the allegation is unfounded, renewed privacy concerns could increase regulatory scrutiny and slow adoption of the product. Meta Disputes Muse Privacy Claim

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 27,474 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $777.44, for a total value of $21,359,386.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $712.76, for a total value of $28,510,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 184,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $131,515,624.16. This represents a 17.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 151,882 shares of company stock valued at $103,032,319 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $725.93 on Friday. 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 firm's 50-day moving average is $622.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $615.28. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $779.82. The company has a market capitalization of $1.85 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.19.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $7.14 EPS. Analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 27.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Investors of record on Monday, September 21st were issued a $0.5250 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 21st. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citic Securities decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $718.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 3rd. UBS Group reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $730.00 to $830.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. New Street Research decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $730.00 to $700.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $687.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-four have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $787.86.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc is a technology company that develops social networking, messaging, virtual and augmented reality, and artificial intelligence products. The company operates a global family of apps that includes Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads, enabling users to connect, communicate, share content and discover communities.

Meta generates most of its business through digital advertising displayed across its platforms. Its products serve individuals, creators, businesses and organizations in markets around the world, while its advertising tools help businesses reach audiences based on factors such as interests, activity and demographics.

Through its Reality Labs division, Meta develops virtual and augmented reality hardware, software and services, including the Meta Quest line of headsets and related experiences.

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