Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Purchases 19,643 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 7.8% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 270,039 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 19,643 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 1.6% of Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $152,110,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the second quarter. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co now owns 57,385 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $32,324,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 7.2% during the second quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 54,120 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $30,484,000 after purchasing an additional 3,654 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 7.3% during the second quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 7,476 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $4,211,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 0.4% in the second quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC now owns 5,030 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,833,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Finally, Defined Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 4.1% in the second quarter. Defined Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,326 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $747,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is reportedly preparing to launch Hatch, a consumer AI agent that could let users browse Reddit, order from DoorDash, shop on Etsy, access Yelp and manage Outlook within Meta’s ecosystem. The product could increase engagement with Meta’s platforms and strengthen its position in consumer AI. Reddit Stock Is Up, What You Need to Know
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to point to accelerating advertising growth, AI-powered ad tools, rising user engagement and increased advertiser adoption as factors helping Meta outperform social-media rivals Reddit and Snap. META Rides on Ad Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Former OpenAI researcher Luke Metz has joined Meta’s Superintelligence Labs and will report to AI chief Alexandr Wang. The hire supports Meta’s effort to build advanced AI capabilities, although the financial benefits are longer term. Luke Metz Joins Meta’s Superintelligence Labs
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports highlighted substantial Meta insider-trading activity during August, including notable transactions on August 18. The article did not establish whether the activity represented buying or selling, limiting its immediate stock-price significance. Monster Insider Trading Alert for Meta Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Instagram chief Adam Mosseri is testifying in a lawsuit brought by 29 states alleging that Meta designed Instagram and Facebook to be addictive to children while downplaying safety risks. An adverse outcome could create regulatory, redesign and financial costs. Instagram Head Adam Mosseri to Testify at Meta Trial

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on META. Benchmark started coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut Meta Platforms from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $810.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $785.00 price objective (down from $800.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $835.00 to $810.00 and set a “buy” 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 assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $785.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 1,559 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total value of $869,922.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,957 shares in the company, valued at $1,092,006. The trade was a 44.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,196 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,260,343.46. The trade was a 41.09% 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. Insiders have sold 34,957 shares of company stock valued at $20,442,696 in the last three months. 13.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $570.05 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $592.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $613.14. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $790.80. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $1.45 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $7.14 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

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.