Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by Mitchell Capital Management Co.

Mitchell Capital Management Co. cut its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 35.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 16,813 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 9,386 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 1.4% of Mitchell Capital Management Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Mitchell Capital Management Co.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $9,471,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in META. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted 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 buying an additional 105,154,977 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $22,152,075,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $132,015,115,000 after acquiring an additional 7,269,279 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 488.1% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,466,595 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,608,445,000 after acquiring an additional 4,537,076 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its stake in 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 worth $59,963,463,000 after acquiring an additional 4,395,763 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s AI strategy remains a potential long-term catalyst. Analysts point to its roughly $60 billion AI investment program as a way to improve ad targeting, monetization and possibly challenge Google in search and digital advertising. Meta’s $60 Billion AI Machine Could Dethrone Google Search by Year-End
• Positive Sentiment: Meta-backed Indian telecom operator Jio Platforms received regulatory approval for an initial public offering. A successful listing could provide a valuation reference for Meta’s investment and highlight the value of its strategic holdings. Meta- and Google-backed Indian telecom operator Jio Platforms gets regulatory nod for IPO
• Positive Sentiment: Some investment commentary describes META as undervalued after its shares fell well below their prior record, citing second-quarter revenue growth of 28% to $60.8 billion and the potential for a recovery. Prediction: Meta Stock Reclaims Its All-Time High Before 2029
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta has begun removing fraudulent advertisements in India that used explicit content to distribute malware. The action limits immediate user risk but underscores continuing challenges in ad-quality enforcement and platform trust. Meta removes ads for fraud apps posing as porn after India sounds alarm
• Negative Sentiment: Meta agreed to an approximately $17 billion to $18 billion settlement with U.S. states over allegations that its platforms harmed children and teens. The agreement requires stronger age verification and other safeguards, creating a substantial financial cost and potentially higher compliance expenses. Explainer: Settlement requires Meta to check young users’ ages
• Negative Sentiment: Research claiming Temu spent as much as $962 million on advertising tied to fake creators raises additional concerns about content moderation, advertiser oversight and reputational risk on Meta’s platforms. Temu spent up to $962 million on ads that helped finance an army of fake creators on Meta platforms

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $780.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Phillip Securities raised shares of Meta Platforms to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $785.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,196 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total value of $5,063,409.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at $7,260,343.46. The trade was a 41.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $561.56, for a total transaction of $280,780.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,943 shares in the company, valued at $1,652,671.08. This trade represents a 14.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 32,987 shares of company stock worth $19,202,995. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $572.34 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.46 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $592.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $610.45. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $520.26 and a 52-week high of $790.80.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted 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 analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.The firm’s revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $7.14 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 EPS for the current year.

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.