SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda Grows Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 206.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,027 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 17,547 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.6% of SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $14,661,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% in 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 during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 4,395,763 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 52,806,712 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,734,628,000 after purchasing an additional 878,396 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 39,558,637 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $26,112,735,000 after purchasing an additional 310,947 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 37,553,102 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $24,788,429,000 after purchasing an additional 823,883 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Legal settlement may reduce uncertainty. Jim Cramer said Meta is attractively valued after a settlement eased a major legal overhang. Investors may view the resolution of litigation as improving visibility, even though the settlement carries a substantial cost. Jim Cramer Says Meta Is At the Price
• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure investment highlights long-term growth potential. Meta’s large Louisiana AI data-center project is generating local economic activity and underscores the company’s commitment to expanding computing capacity for AI products and services. The investment could support future monetization, although it also implies significant capital spending. Meta AI Data Center Louisiana Economy
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention remains elevated. Meta is trending among Zacks users, while broader coverage continues to focus on its AI strategy, advertising business and valuation. This may increase trading interest but does not represent a new fundamental catalyst by itself. Meta Trending Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Teen-safety settlement creates a major financial and regulatory burden. Reports say Meta agreed to pay up to $18 billion to resolve claims that its platforms contributed to a teen mental-health crisis. The payment could pressure cash flow and reinforce concerns about increased oversight of social-media companies, despite removing litigation uncertainty. Meta Teen Safety Settlement
• Negative Sentiment: AI governance scrutiny is intensifying. The United Nations reportedly issued a sharper warning regarding AI governance, putting pressure on Meta to address safety, accountability and potential misuse as its AI operations expand. New rules or compliance costs could weigh on future returns. Meta AI Quarter and UN Governance Warning
• Negative Sentiment: Facial-recognition lawsuit adds privacy risk. Meta is facing a suit alleging that facial-recognition technology was used to train smart-glasses systems. The claims could create additional legal costs, reputational damage and scrutiny of Meta’s wearable-AI ambitions. Meta Facial Recognition Lawsuit

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total value of $2,012,047.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 9,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,708,013.06. This represents a 26.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 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 value of $5,063,409.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,260,343.46. This trade represents a 41.09% decrease in their position. 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 32,987 shares of company stock worth $19,202,995. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $616.77 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $597.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $608.89. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week 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 company has a market cap of $1.57 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 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 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.The business had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.22 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $7.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on META shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $800.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. TD Cowen cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $815.00 to $725.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $785.22.

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.