Meta Platforms, Inc. $META is Generali Investments Management Co LLC’s 6th Largest Position

Generali Investments Management Co LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 23.9% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 41,249 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 7,968 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 5.0% of Generali Investments Management Co LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Generali Investments Management Co LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $23,235,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in META. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 17.4% in the first quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 18,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $10,299,000 after buying an additional 2,670 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 133,798 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $88,319,000 after acquiring an additional 18,169 shares during the last quarter. WMS Group LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $876,000. Consolidated Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 61.2% during the 4th quarter. Consolidated Investment Group LLC now owns 7,900 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,215,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $132,015,115,000 after acquiring an additional 7,269,279 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on META. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $810.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Phillip Securities upgraded Meta Platforms to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Four 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 company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $785.32.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.5%

NASDAQ META opened at $594.92 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $1.50 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.25. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $597.51 and a 200-day moving average of $621.66.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted 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 company had revenue of $60.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $7.14 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total value of $1,268,023.68. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares in the company, valued at $681,890.56. This trade represents a 65.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total value of $5,589,088.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at $8,014,978.24. This represents a 41.08% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 36,715 shares of company stock worth $22,374,725 over the last ninety days. 13.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Muse Glimmer strengthens Meta’s AI positioning. Meta released Muse Glimmer, a 30-billion-parameter open-weight model licensed under Apache 2.0. Designed for autonomous AI agents, 4-bit quantization allows it to run locally on high-end consumer computers rather than exclusively through cloud infrastructure. The release could expand developer adoption, accelerate innovation and challenge the closed-model strategies of OpenAI and Anthropic. Meta returns to open source with Muse Glimmer
• Positive Sentiment: Zuckerberg outlined a broad AI distribution strategy. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Meta intends to make advanced AI—including open models and personal AI agents—widely available and affordable. Investors may view the approach as a way to commoditize competing AI software while using developer feedback and improved models to increase engagement and advertising performance across Facebook and Instagram. Meta launches new AI model as Zuckerberg champions open-weight push
• Neutral Sentiment: The strategy remains a long-term bet. Meta’s second-quarter revenue increased 28% year over year to $60.8 billion, supported by strong ad impressions and pricing, but the company missed the consensus EPS estimate. The open-weight launch may improve Meta’s competitive position, yet the financial benefits are indirect and could take time to materialize. Meta Platforms stock overview
• Negative Sentiment: AI spending continues to pressure near-term returns. Meta expects full-year capital expenditures of approximately $130 billion to $145 billion. The spending has sharply reduced free cash flow and compressed operating margins, prompting concerns that AI infrastructure investments may not generate sufficient demand or earnings growth soon enough. Meta’s Free Cash Flow Will Surge
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and trust risks remain overhangs. Meta faces a U.S. trial brought by four states that could involve claims of up to $1.4 trillion, while separate child-safety rulings and public skepticism toward AI and Meta’s smart glasses add reputational risk. These headlines could limit enthusiasm despite the company’s strong balance sheet. Meta faces $1.4T penalties

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.