Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Increases Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 25.4% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 203,836 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 41,307 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 1.3% of Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $114,819,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 17.4% in the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 18,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $10,299,000 after purchasing an additional 2,670 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 133,798 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $88,319,000 after buying an additional 18,169 shares during the period. WMS Group LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $876,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.8% in 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 buying an additional 7,269,279 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 4.9% during the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 625,079 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $352,101,000 after buying an additional 29,411 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,196 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $7,260,343.46. This trade represents a 41.09% decrease in their position. The sale 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, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total transaction of $4,379,184.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $462,024. This trade represents a 90.46% 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. Insiders sold a total of 32,987 shares of company stock valued at $19,202,995 in the last 90 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: New AI model strengthens product narrative: Meta launched Muse Spark 1.3, described as its most advanced AI model, supporting the view that the company is intensifying competition with leading AI developers and could create new monetization opportunities. Meta Platforms unveils most powerful AI model
• Positive Sentiment: $18 billion settlement removes a major overhang: The settlement of lawsuits alleging harm to children provides greater legal visibility. Analysts believe limits on teen usage should have a limited effect on revenue and that resolving the case could clear the way for accelerated AI-product launches. Meta settlement could clear the way for new AI product launches
• Positive Sentiment: Valuation is attracting buyers: Articles characterize META as undervalued at roughly 16–20 times forward earnings, well below its historical valuation, despite 28% recent revenue growth and resilient user engagement. Morgan Stanley analysts see potential for substantial upside if AI improves advertising and product growth. Meta stock looks undervalued
• Positive Sentiment: Advertising outlook remains favorable: An analyst report argues that AI-powered targeting and engagement could help Meta challenge Google for leadership in digital advertising, adding to the stock’s growth appeal. Meta versus Google digital advertising outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst stance remains cautious: Wedbush reaffirmed a neutral rating with a $595 price target, suggesting limited near-term upside despite the improving legal and AI backdrop.
• Negative Sentiment: AI spending is pressuring cash flow: Meta’s latest results showed margin compression and sharply lower free cash flow as capital expenditures increased, creating concern that returns on its large AI investments may take time.
• Negative Sentiment: Trust and safety issues persist: Meta disabled cameras on thousands of AI glasses after detecting tampering with recording lights, while it also removed scam advertisements in India linked to malware and stolen banking credentials. These incidents could increase regulatory and reputational pressure.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $592.85 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $593.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $609.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.51 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $790.80.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $60.80 billion for 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 revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $7.14 EPS. Analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on META. Phillip Securities raised Meta Platforms to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $780.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.