Plato Investment Management Ltd Acquires 1,186 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,003 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,186 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 1.7% of Plato Investment Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $29,122,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 105,292,277 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $69,502,379,000 after buying an additional 105,154,977 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 90,841,345 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $59,963,463,000 after buying an additional 4,395,763 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 52,806,712 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $34,734,628,000 after buying an additional 878,396 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 39,558,637 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $26,112,735,000 after acquiring an additional 310,947 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 37,553,102 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $24,788,429,000 after acquiring an additional 823,883 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $644.38 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $790.80. 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 stock has a market cap of $1.64 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $600.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $608.66.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The company had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $7.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total value of $4,379,184.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $462,024. The trade was a 90.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,196 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total value of $5,063,409.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at $7,260,343.46. The trade was a 41.09% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 41,581 shares of company stock valued at $24,506,695. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the subject of several research analyst reports. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $780.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Citizens Jmp dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $770.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Truist Financial cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $763.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $810.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $787.54.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan upgraded Meta from Neutral to Overweight and raised its price target from $640 to $820, citing the company’s frontier AI models and AI-agent opportunity as potential growth drivers beyond advertising. JPMorgan upgrades Meta on AI models and agents
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s Muse AI agent gained significant early traction, reportedly reaching the No. 2 position among U.S. apps. Its free and paid subscription tiers could create a recurring revenue stream and help monetize Meta’s substantial AI investments. Meta’s AI agent Muse reaches No. 2 app ranking
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.525 per share, payable September 28 to shareholders of record September 21. The dividend adds to shareholder returns and signals confidence in cash generation. Meta announces quarterly cash dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors remain divided over whether Muse can become a material financial catalyst. Dedicated computing, security and inference costs could pressure margins before subscription revenue scales, while Meta continues to commit heavily to AI infrastructure.
• Negative Sentiment: Star AI researcher Andrew Tulloch is leaving Meta for Anthropic. The departure raises concerns about Meta’s ability to retain high-value technical talent amid intensifying competition for AI researchers. Top AI researcher leaves Meta for Anthropic
• Negative Sentiment: Meta faces renewed privacy and regulatory scrutiny as Muse can access sensitive information and perform actions across third-party applications. Reports of fraudulent cryptocurrency advertisements and related lawsuits add to reputational and legal risks.
• Negative Sentiment: COO Javier Olivan sold shares worth approximately $3.3 million in two transactions under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. Although scheduled sales are less concerning, the sizable reduction in his direct holdings may weigh modestly on sentiment.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc develops technologies that help people connect, communicate and build communities online. The company’s principal products include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and digital communication.

Meta generates most of its business through advertising displayed across its family of apps. It also develops artificial intelligence technologies, business messaging tools and hardware and software through its Reality Labs division, including Quest virtual- and mixed-reality devices and related experiences.

The company was founded as Facebook in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg and was renamed Meta Platforms in 2021 to reflect its broader focus on building the metaverse.