74,894 Shares in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Acquired by North Dakota State Investment Board

North Dakota State Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 74,894 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,437,000. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.8% of North Dakota State Investment Board’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 worth $132,015,115,000 after buying an additional 7,269,279 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake 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 worth $64,158,971,000 after buying an additional 1,650,435 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth $1,191,175,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $813,994,000. Finally, Concentrum Wealth Management boosted its stake 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 worth $913,000 after buying an additional 1,124,998 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $612.34 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $796.25. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $617.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $636.70. The firm has a market cap of $1.55 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.25. 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) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The business had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.43 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Erste Group Bank lowered Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $750.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $765.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $840.19.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total value of $1,748,612.10. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 10,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,645,103.65. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total value of $36,471,323.70. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 95,471 shares of company stock valued at $60,616,955 in the last quarter. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Investors are viewing Meta’s massive AI spending more favorably as analysts and market commentators argue the AI boom could last longer than expected, potentially strengthening the company’s competitive position. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Several recent pieces continue to frame Meta as a top long-term growth stock and a stock drawing increased investor attention, which can help reinforce bullish sentiment around the name. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is making a major workforce reduction in Washington state as part of a broader AI-driven restructuring, which may improve efficiency over time but also signals a significant internal reset. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: The company is also getting additional investor and public scrutiny around AI, jobs, and capital allocation, with commentary suggesting the market is still debating whether Meta’s heavy AI investment will pay off. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: JLens is urging shareholders to back a proposal demanding more transparency on content moderation, highlighting ongoing governance and brand-safety concerns ahead of the annual meeting. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Meta’s challenge to Vermont’s social media addiction lawsuit, keeping legal exposure alive in a case centered on alleged harms to young users. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Meta also faces a new lawsuit from Santa Clara County over allegedly scam-related AI ads, adding another regulatory and reputational overhang tied to ad practices and user safety. Article Title

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.