TD Asset Management Inc Sells 514,243 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

TD Asset Management Inc lessened its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 20.6% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,979,128 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 514,243 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.0% of TD Asset Management Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. TD Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,114,823,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of META. RHL Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Advantage Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta opened paid developer access to Muse Spark 1.3, with company executives and analysts claiming the model is approaching or matching offerings from Anthropic and OpenAI. Improved performance and token efficiency could support adoption in coding agents, model APIs, subscriptions and future generative-search advertising. Meta Platforms: Muse Spark 1.3 Was The Warning Shot
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage identifies Muse Spark 1.3 as a new catalyst that could improve confidence in Meta’s AI roadmap and help the company recover toward its prior highs, provided the technology translates into revenue and returns on investment. Meta Rises 4% as Muse Spark 1.3 Claims Parity with Anthropic and OpenAI
• Positive Sentiment: Some investment commentary views Meta as a major beneficiary of the ongoing AI infrastructure and computing cycle, alongside other hyperscalers, potentially creating a long-term growth opportunity. Hyperscalers Are the Backbone of AI

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $616.77 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.57 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $596.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $609.26. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $790.80.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released 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 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 the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $7.14 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $561.56, for a total transaction of $280,780.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,943 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,652,671.08. This represents a 14.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 1,559 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider owned 1,957 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,092,006. This represents a 44.34% decrease in their position. 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 have sold a total of 32,987 shares of company stock valued at $19,202,995 over the last three months. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on META shares. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $800.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 30th. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $890.00 to $730.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $785.00 price target (down from $800.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $650.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Four research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.