Meta Platforms, Inc. $META is Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s 8th Largest Position

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. decreased its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,742 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 2,450 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 1.5% of Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $30,854,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 34.2% in the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 52,252 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $38,373,000 after acquiring an additional 13,311 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 133,798 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $88,319,000 after acquiring an additional 18,169 shares during the period. Becker Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.0% in the third quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,052 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $25,741,000 after acquiring an additional 1,657 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 84,059 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $55,487,000 after acquiring an additional 3,336 shares during the period. Finally, Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 16.2% in the third quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC now owns 6,933 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,091,000 after acquiring an additional 968 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched paid subscription plans across its flagship apps and Meta AI, opening a new monetization path that could reduce reliance on ad revenue. Mark Zuckerberg says a Meta cloud computing business ‘definitely on the table’
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators are pointing to the subscription push as a meaningful upside driver, with some estimating it could add billions in annual revenue if adoption is strong. Meta’s Subscription Push Could Add $13.5 Billion By 2028 Across Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta also said it may eventually use excess AI/data-center capacity for a cloud business, which adds long-term optionality but is still early-stage. Mark Zuckerberg says a Meta cloud computing business ‘definitely on the table’
• Neutral Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend, which is modest but reinforces capital-return strength. Meta Announces Quarterly Cash Dividend
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported Meta’s employee mouse-click tracking tool for AI training may run into EU privacy concerns, creating regulatory risk around data collection and cross-border use. Exclusive: Meta tool to track employee mouse clicks on collision course with EU privacy rules
• Negative Sentiment: Recent commentary from Jim Cramer and disclosures of insider selling add some caution around execution and valuation. Jim Cramer Says Meta “Has Not Excelled in a Visible Way”

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at $8,014,978.24. This trade represents a 41.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total transaction of $4,769,642.01. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $251,641.62. This trade represents a 94.99% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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 40,890 shares of company stock worth $25,315,558 in the last ninety days. 13.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $850.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $908.00 to $865.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $800.00 price objective (down from $880.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $935.00 to $945.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Argus restated a “buy” rating and set a $800.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Four equities 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $840.19.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META stock opened at $632.51 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $1.60 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.23. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $617.84 and its 200 day moving average is $636.92. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. The company had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The firm’s revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.43 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.