Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Raises Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its Meta Platforms stake by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, buying 1,628 more shares and bringing its total to 249,459 shares worth about $164.7 million.
• Meta continues to draw heavy institutional interest, with firms like Vanguard and State Street also boosting positions. Institutions now own 79.91% of Meta’s shares.
• The article highlights several recent catalysts for Meta, including a new “Forum” app launch, a shift of resources toward AI, and ongoing legal risks such as the Texas lawsuit against Meta and WhatsApp.

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 249,459 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,628 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 2.1% of Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund's holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $164,665,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 3.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 7,269,279 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 1.9% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $64,158,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,650,435 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at about $1,191,175,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at about $813,994,000. Finally, Concentrum Wealth Management boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 948.7% during the third quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management now owns 1,243,577 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $913,000 after purchasing an additional 1,124,998 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched a standalone “Forum” app for Facebook Groups, signaling a new product push that could deepen user engagement and add pressure to competitors like Reddit. Meta quietly launches a new Reddit-like app called Forum
• Positive Sentiment: Meta is cutting jobs and shifting resources toward AI, which investors may view as an efficiency move that supports long-term profit margins and keeps the company focused on its biggest growth area. Meta Cuts 8,000 Jobs, Boosts AI Team: What This Means for Employees
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta also settled a school-district lawsuit over alleged social media addiction harms, removing one legal overhang, though the broader regulatory and litigation risk around its platforms remains. Texas sues Meta, WhatsApp over encryption privacy claims
• Neutral Sentiment: Other headlines around Meta’s dual-class control structure, insider share sales, and broader AI spending debate are adding to the narrative, but they are less likely to drive the stock on their own than the new app launch and workforce reshaping.
• Negative Sentiment: The Texas attorney general’s lawsuit against Meta and WhatsApp over encryption and privacy claims adds another legal risk for investors to monitor. Google, Meta, TikTok face EU consumer complaints about handling of financial scams
• Negative Sentiment: Competition concerns are also in focus after Meta’s Forum app appeared to pressure Reddit shares, reinforcing worries that Meta’s scale lets it copy or crowd out rival social platforms.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.5%

Meta Platforms stock opened at $610.26 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $796.25. The company has a market capitalization of $1.54 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $617.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $637.00.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.43 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.49 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on META. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $920.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Evercore raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $725.00 price target (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Four 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $840.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total transaction of $4,769,642.01. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 414 shares of the company's stock, valued at $251,641.62. The trade was a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 837 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.35, for a total value of $510,025.95. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 14,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,933,071. This represents a 5.40% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 152,728 shares of company stock valued at $96,925,217 over the last quarter. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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