Teacher Retirement System of Texas Acquires 73,989 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its Meta stake by 11.8%, buying 73,989 shares to hold 698,940 shares worth $461,363,000 — about 1.6% of its portfolio and the fund's 9th-largest holding.
• Meta reported a strong Q1 beat (EPS $10.44 vs. $6.67; revenue $56.31B, +33.1% YoY) and highlighted AI ad momentum, but a materially higher 2026 CapEx plan and Reality Labs losses have spooked investors and left analyst views mixed (consensus price target ~$840.67).
• Insiders have sold heavily recently — 166,638 shares worth $106.7M over the past 90 days (including Rule 10b5‑1 sales by the COO and a director) — while institutional investors own roughly 79.9% of Meta and insiders hold about 13.6%.

Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 11.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 698,940 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 73,989 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 1.6% of Teacher Retirement System of Texas' investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $461,363,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 34.2% during the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 52,252 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $38,373,000 after buying an additional 13,311 shares in the last quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,052 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $25,741,000 after acquiring an additional 1,657 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 84,059 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $55,487,000 after acquiring an additional 3,336 shares during the last quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC now owns 6,933 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,091,000 after acquiring an additional 968 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Consolidated Investment Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 61.2% during the 4th quarter. Consolidated Investment Group LLC now owns 7,900 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,215,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $667.00, for a total transaction of $386,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,565,949. This trade represents a 13.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 629 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $670.84, for a total value of $421,958.36. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 2,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,591,232.48. The trade was a 20.96% 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 have sold a total of 166,638 shares of company stock valued at $106,697,681 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on META. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Erste Group Bank lowered Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $900.00 price target on Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, January 26th. DA Davidson increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $850.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $840.67.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META opened at $608.74 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $629.62 and a 200-day moving average of $647.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.54 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.13, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $796.25. 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 (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.43 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 30.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.63%.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat & AI ad momentum — Meta reported robust Q1 revenue and EPS, and management highlighted AI-driven ad tools and full‑stack model+chip co‑design that are expanding ad automation and advertiser reach. Meta Does Things Their Own Way
• Positive Sentiment: Robotics/AI talent add — Meta acquired humanoid‑robot startup Assured Robot Intelligence to accelerate robotics model optimization, signaling product diversification in AI/robotics. WSJ: Meta Acquires Assured Robot Intelligence
• Positive Sentiment: Energy and creator initiatives — Meta is signing energy partnerships (space solar/long‑duration storage) to secure power for compute-heavy AI centers and piloting stablecoin creator payouts — moves that support long‑term AI scale and monetization. AI drives growth (context)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst reactions mixed — Some firms (e.g., Stifel) trimmed price targets but retained “buy”; others raised targets on longer‑term AI upside. These tweaks sustain divergent Wall Street views on valuation vs. heavy CapEx. Benzinga: Analyst Moves
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider sales disclosed — COO Javier Oliván sold shares under a Rule 10b5‑1 plan; routine but notable given market noise. SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Large CapEx raise spooks investors — Meta lifted 2026 capital expenditure guidance materially (now targeting major AI data‑center buildout), prompting concerns about near‑term free‑cash‑flow and returns; that is the primary reason the stock has been sold. Reuters: CapEx & market reaction
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/legal pressure — Threats to pull apps from New Mexico over child‑safety rules and US senators’ scrutiny over ad removals amplify litigation/compliance risk and potential costs. Reuters: Lawmaker Scrutiny
• Negative Sentiment: Reality Labs losses & deal setbacks — Continued multi‑billion losses in Reality Labs and a blocked Manus acquisition in China highlight near‑term cash drag and execution risks on speculative bets. CNBC: Reality Labs Loss

About Meta Platforms

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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