Thompson Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) by 4.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,504 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 876 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.3% of Thompson Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Thompson Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $11,550,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of META. First National Bank Sioux Falls increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 2,001 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,321,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 984 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $649,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $794,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Arcataur Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Arcataur Capital Management LLC now owns 1,736 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,146,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Acorn Creek Capital LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC now owns 2,118 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,398,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research analysts have commented on the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $680.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $840.00 to $770.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $785.32.
More Meta Platforms News
Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive on Meta’s long-term outlook, citing 28% revenue growth, resilient advertising demand and additional monetization opportunities in WhatsApp. Some commentary argues that the market is assigning little value to future AI and messaging revenue streams. Meta Has $27 Billion That Isn’t On Its Balance Sheet
- Positive Sentiment: Meta released Glimmer, an open-weight AI model that users can download and run on their own hardware, supporting Mark Zuckerberg’s strategy of broadening access to AI. The move could strengthen developer adoption and Meta’s competitive position, although its financial payoff is uncertain. Meta’s open AI, and a $250M deal gone very wrong
- Neutral Sentiment: Meta removed approximately 756,000 suspected under-16 accounts in Australia—462,000 from Instagram and 294,000 from Facebook—as it enforces the country’s youth social-media restrictions. The action demonstrates regulatory compliance but may raise moderation costs and reduce engagement among younger users. Meta says it has taken down 756,000 Australian teen accounts
- Neutral Sentiment: Institutional trading was mixed: Dodge & Cox increased its position by 1.47 million shares, while Sands Capital and Columbus Hill reduced their stakes. These transactions may influence sentiment but do not by themselves change Meta’s fundamentals. Dodge and Cox boosts Meta Platforms stake
- Negative Sentiment: A Ninth Circuit ruling removed a procedural barrier to more than 3,000 lawsuits alleging Meta’s product features harm young users. The court did not determine liability, but the decision allows the cases to proceed and adds potential litigation costs, damages and pressure to change platform design. How Serious Are Thousands of Addiction Lawsuits for Meta and Snap?
- Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that Meta’s roughly $145 billion AI investment plan and major data-center projects could produce diminishing returns, compress margins and weigh on free cash flow before monetization catches up. Meta: Diminishing Q2 CapEx ROI Is Alarming
- Negative Sentiment: Meta COO Javier Olivan disclosed additional sales under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, while several funds also trimmed holdings. Although planned insider sales are not necessarily bearish, they can add to near-term selling pressure. Meta COO insider stock sale
Meta Platforms Stock Performance
Shares of META stock opened at $589.85 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $796.25. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.25. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $595.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $620.41.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). The firm 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $7.14 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Meta Platforms Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 7.91%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total transaction of $5,589,088.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at $8,014,978.24. The trade was a 41.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 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 the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total value of $1,268,023.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $681,890.56. The trade was a 65.03% 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 36,280 shares of company stock worth $22,075,696. Company 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.
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