Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 9,260 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Handelsbanken Fonder AB decreased its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,120,604 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 9,260 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.8% of Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $631,225,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in META. RHL Group LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Bayban boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Bayban now owns 70 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on META. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $835.00 to $810.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $725.00 target price (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $785.32.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $594.92 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $1.50 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.25. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $597.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $621.66. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). The business 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $7.14 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.84 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 7.91%.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Muse Glimmer strengthens Meta’s AI positioning. Meta released Muse Glimmer, a 30-billion-parameter open-weight model licensed under Apache 2.0. Designed for autonomous AI agents, 4-bit quantization allows it to run locally on high-end consumer computers rather than exclusively through cloud infrastructure. The release could expand developer adoption, accelerate innovation and challenge the closed-model strategies of OpenAI and Anthropic. Meta returns to open source with Muse Glimmer
• Positive Sentiment: Zuckerberg outlined a broad AI distribution strategy. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Meta intends to make advanced AI—including open models and personal AI agents—widely available and affordable. Investors may view the approach as a way to commoditize competing AI software while using developer feedback and improved models to increase engagement and advertising performance across Facebook and Instagram. Meta launches new AI model as Zuckerberg champions open-weight push
• Neutral Sentiment: The strategy remains a long-term bet. Meta’s second-quarter revenue increased 28% year over year to $60.8 billion, supported by strong ad impressions and pricing, but the company missed the consensus EPS estimate. The open-weight launch may improve Meta’s competitive position, yet the financial benefits are indirect and could take time to materialize. Meta Platforms stock overview
• Negative Sentiment: AI spending continues to pressure near-term returns. Meta expects full-year capital expenditures of approximately $130 billion to $145 billion. The spending has sharply reduced free cash flow and compressed operating margins, prompting concerns that AI infrastructure investments may not generate sufficient demand or earnings growth soon enough. Meta’s Free Cash Flow Will Surge
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and trust risks remain overhangs. Meta faces a U.S. trial brought by four states that could involve claims of up to $1.4 trillion, while separate child-safety rulings and public skepticism toward AI and Meta’s smart glasses add reputational risk. These headlines could limit enthusiasm despite the company’s strong balance sheet. Meta faces $1.4T penalties

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $561.56, for a total transaction of $280,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,943 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,652,671.08. This represents a 14.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 837 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.85, for a total value of $508,770.45. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 6,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,823,376.50. This represents a 11.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 36,715 shares of company stock valued at $22,374,725 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms 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.