Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Acquired by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 10.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 777,021 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 73,049 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 1.3% of Retirement Systems of Alabama’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $437,688,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. RHL Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Advantage Trust Co acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $750.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $725.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $650.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $785.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 1,559 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total value of $869,922.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,957 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,092,006. This represents a 44.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,196 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total transaction of $5,063,409.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,260,343.46. The trade was a 41.09% 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 34,957 shares of company stock valued at $20,442,696 over the last three months. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META stock opened at $576.14 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $790.80. The firm has a market cap of $1.47 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $592.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $612.48.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its 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 company had revenue of $60.80 billion for 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $7.14 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Settlement ends a high-profile trial and reduces legal uncertainty. Meta agreed to pay up to roughly $16.7 billion–$18 billion to settle claims brought by dozens of states alleging that Facebook and Instagram harmed or misled young users. Investors appear to prefer a defined cost over the possibility of much larger damages or an adverse trial ruling. The payout is substantial but reportedly equivalent to only several months of Meta’s profits. Reuters settlement report
• Positive Sentiment: Restrictions are less disruptive than a fundamental business overhaul. The agreement requires measures including two-hour daily limits for teenage users, overnight blocking, muted school-hour notifications, autoplay controls, parental tools and stronger age verification. However, Meta is not required to abandon personalized recommendations or targeted advertising, preserving the core of its advertising model. Associated Press settlement report
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors continue to highlight Meta’s advertising and AI potential. A bullish analysis points to improving ad-ranking algorithms, rising ad impressions and pricing, strong network effects and Meta’s AA- credit rating. Evercore ISI also sees possible future revenue from excess AI-computing capacity as Meta expands its data-center infrastructure. These catalysts compete with concerns that the stock has declined in recent months and remains below its longer-term moving averages. Invezz AI infrastructure analysis
• Negative Sentiment: The settlement creates meaningful financial and regulatory costs. The maximum payment could reach $18 billion, while usage limits may reduce teen engagement and potentially weaken future advertising data and impressions. Reports also question whether Meta’s age-verification technology works reliably, and the company’s final obligations could become stricter if TikTok, YouTube and other competitors adopt similar safeguards. Meta still faces thousands of additional youth-related lawsuits. TechCrunch age-verification report

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.