Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META – Free Report) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 33,559,173 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,152,075,000. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 2.4% of Norges Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. RHL Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analyst Ratings Changes
META has been the subject of several analyst reports. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $935.00 to $945.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Wedbush raised shares of Meta Platforms from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wolfe Research reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $765.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $840.60.
Meta Platforms News Roundup
Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:
- Negative Sentiment: Meta is reportedly weighing a large stock sale to fund AI infrastructure, sparking dilution concerns and pressuring the shares. Article: Meta weighs big equity raising after blockbuster Google deal
- Negative Sentiment: Meta’s AI rollout has faced another delay, with the Muse Spark developer API still lacking a launch date, raising questions about when the company can monetize its AI investments. Article: Meta repeatedly pushes back new AI model release for developers
- Negative Sentiment: Privacy concerns resurfaced after reports that Meta smart glasses could use facial-recognition-style “faceprint” tracking, which could invite regulatory scrutiny and consumer backlash. Article: Code Reveals Meta Smart Glasses Can Use ‘Faceprint’ Tracking, Raising Privacy Alarms
- Negative Sentiment: Meta is also battling renewed policy and legal pressure in Australia over proposed payments for news, adding another regulatory overhang. Article: Meta accuses Australia of breaching FTA, invokes US ‘trade action’
- Neutral Sentiment: Meta continues to receive bullish long-term commentary from some analysts and investors who view it as a major AI and advertising platform, but that optimism is being overshadowed today by funding and execution concerns. Article: Analyst Sees Multi-Billion Dollar Potential In Meta Platforms’ Subscription Model
Insider Activity at Meta Platforms
In other news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total transaction of $1,268,023.68. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $681,890.56. The trade was a 65.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total transaction of $1,748,612.10. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 10,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,645,103.65. The trade was a 20.83% 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 quarter, insiders have sold 41,305 shares of company stock worth $25,567,928. 13.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Meta Platforms Stock Performance
NASDAQ:META opened at $593.00 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $618.83 and its 200-day moving average is $636.81. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $520.26 and a 52-week high of $796.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35. The company has a market cap of $1.50 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.56, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.23.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The company had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.43 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 earnings per share for the current year.
Meta Platforms Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is presently 7.63%.
Meta Platforms Company 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.
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