Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Bought by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,855,614 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 141,195 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 1.4% of Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,608,236,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 2,670 shares during the period. WMS Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $876,000. Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of 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. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 118,460 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $78,195,000 after buying an additional 2,871 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Xponance LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 528,966 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $349,165,000 after acquiring an additional 30,793 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $613.48 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $790.80. The firm has a market cap of $1.56 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.11, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $598.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $608.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The firm had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $7.14 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Susquehanna cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $650.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $800.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $785.22.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 1,559 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total value of $869,922.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,957 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,092,006. The trade was a 44.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 828 shares in the company, valued at $462,024. This represents a 90.46% 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. Insiders sold 36,227 shares of company stock valued at $21,205,509 in the last quarter. 13.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched Muse, a personal AI agent that can interact with Facebook, Instagram and third-party applications to perform tasks such as sending emails, booking travel, shopping and making payments. The product includes free and paid subscription tiers, offering a potential new revenue stream beyond digital advertising. Meta launches AI agent that can access other apps to send emails, make payments
• Positive Sentiment: The rollout follows the release of Muse Spark 1.3, a model aimed at coding and extended agentic tasks. Investors viewed the development as evidence that Meta’s substantial AI investment could eventually generate financial returns; Bank of America reportedly continues to see meaningful upside in the stock. Meta stock jumps 4% after Muse Spark 1.3: why BofA still sees 32% upside
• Positive Sentiment: Meta and Panmnesia proposed a data-center architecture designed to connect computing resources more tightly for extremely large AI models. The initiative supports Meta’s strategy of building extensive AI infrastructure and could improve long-term computing efficiency. One Chip, One Datacenter: Meta and Panmnesia Extend Tight Coupling Beyond the Rack with CXL
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and investors remain divided over Meta’s large AI infrastructure spending, reportedly including a potential $130 billion capital-expenditure commitment. Strong advertising growth and user monetization support the investment case, but the scale of spending raises execution and return-on-investment concerns. Wall Street Keeps Asking How Much Meta Will Spend
• Negative Sentiment: Muse increases Meta’s exposure to privacy, security and consumer-trust concerns because it can access sensitive information and act across other applications. Reports noted internal concerns about potential misuse or mishandling of personal data, which could increase regulatory and reputational risks. Meta pushes into personal AI agents as company faces public reckoning over privacy and safety
• Negative Sentiment: Meta faces continuing legal pressure, including a reported lawsuit alleging facial-recognition data was used to train smart-glasses systems. Separately, the company’s chief accounting officer sold 3,240 shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan; the planned nature of the sale reduces its significance, but insider selling may weigh modestly on sentiment.

Meta Platforms Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc develops technologies that help people connect, communicate and build communities online. The company’s principal products include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and digital communication.

Meta generates most of its business through advertising displayed across its family of apps. It also develops artificial intelligence technologies, business messaging tools and hardware and software through its Reality Labs division, including Quest virtual- and mixed-reality devices and related experiences.

The company was founded as Facebook in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg and was renamed Meta Platforms in 2021 to reflect its broader focus on building the metaverse.