Northeast Investment Management Grows Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Northeast Investment Management grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 107,930 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 945 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises about 2.2% of Northeast Investment Management’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Northeast Investment Management’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $60,796,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of META. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 105,292,277 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $69,502,379,000 after acquiring an additional 105,154,977 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 90,841,345 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $59,963,463,000 after acquiring an additional 4,395,763 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $34,734,628,000 after acquiring an additional 878,396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% in 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 during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.4%

NASDAQ META opened at $546.03 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $790.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.39 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.57, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.25. 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $594.30 and its 200 day moving average is $617.08.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The business had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $7.14 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 2,127 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Saturday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $689.85, for a total value of $1,467,310.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 15,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,587,127.95. This trade represents a 12.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total transaction of $1,268,023.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 1,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $681,890.56. This trade represents a 65.03% decrease in their position. 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 sold a total of 19,899 shares of company stock worth $12,290,969 over the last quarter. 13.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s AI investments are showing measurable benefits: second-quarter revenue increased 28% year over year to $60.8 billion, while AI-driven ad ranking reportedly lifted clicks and conversions. Advantage+ reached a $75 billion annual revenue run rate, supporting the argument that AI can improve monetization and eventually offset heavy infrastructure spending. Meta’s AI Payoff Has Already Begun
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts and institutional investors remain constructive, viewing the recent selloff as excessive and citing future margin expansion, WhatsApp monetization and additional AI businesses as potential upside drivers. Meta also remains a major holding among several large investment firms. Meta’s Dip Offers A 30% Upside Potential
• Neutral Sentiment: Options traders are reportedly using range-bound strategies, indicating that markets may expect elevated volatility but no immediate decisive move while the legal proceedings unfold. Meta’s legal troubles has options traders eyeing the jade lizard
• Neutral Sentiment: CFO Susan Li sold 2,127 shares to cover tax withholding tied to vested equity awards. Because the transaction was described as tax-related rather than discretionary, it is unlikely to materially change the investment thesis. Susan Li Sells Meta Shares
• Negative Sentiment: The central market overhang is the landmark federal child-safety trial involving 29 states. Prosecutors allege Facebook and Instagram were deliberately designed to encourage addictive use among children, while former safety personnel have testified that Meta ignored or minimized internal warnings. A loss could lead to substantial penalties, product changes, restrictions on youth engagement and follow-on litigation, potentially threatening user activity and advertising revenue. Former Meta engineer resumes testimony
• Negative Sentiment: Privacy criticism surrounding Meta’s smart glasses, including workplace restrictions and reports of people being recorded without consent, creates reputational and adoption risks for the company’s wearables strategy. Meta Glasses privacy concerns

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $725.00 target price (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $785.00 price target (down from $800.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $750.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $700.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $800.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $785.32.

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.