Hsbc Holdings PLC Acquires 1,568,670 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 27.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,379,582 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,568,670 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 2.8% of Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.29% of Meta Platforms worth $4,878,079,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of META. First National Bank Sioux Falls boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 2,001 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,321,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 984 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $649,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $794,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Arcataur Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Arcataur Capital Management LLC now owns 1,736 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,146,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Acorn Creek Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC now owns 2,118 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $1,398,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Bank of America cut their target price on Meta Platforms from $885.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. Wolfe Research decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $840.60.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street commentary remains constructive on Meta’s long-term AI strategy, with Evercore ISI’s Mark Mahaney naming META one of the best “Magnificent 7” stock buys, reinforcing the view that the stock may still offer upside after its recent pullback. Article: Famous Wall Street Tech Analyst Names Meta and Amazon the Best Magnificent 7 Stock Buys Today
• Positive Sentiment: Meta continues to expand its AI infrastructure, including new computing deals with Crusoe and a strategic data-center partnership in India, which supports the company’s long-term AI capacity and monetization plans. Article: Meta signs new AI computing deals with data center firm Crusoe
• Positive Sentiment: Meta also drew favorable attention for rolling out new AI features for Facebook creators and broader AI tools that could deepen engagement and create new ad products over time. Article: Meta Platforms Rolls Out New AI Features On Facebook For Content Creators
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta continues to get attention for its cloud-computing ambitions, but that move is still viewed as a longer-term optionality story rather than an immediate earnings driver. Article: Meta and Cloud Computing: Real Potential, or a Shot in the Dark?
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta’s strong last reported quarter and upcoming dividend remain supportive, but these are already well known and are not the main catalysts behind today’s trading. Article: META stock and company profile
• Negative Sentiment: Sentiment was hurt by reports that a senior AI executive is leaving Meta during a major AI transition, raising execution concerns at a time when the company is trying to accelerate its artificial intelligence roadmap. Article: Meta head of product for ‘AI for work’ transformation is leaving company
• Negative Sentiment: Meta was also hit by reports that attackers exploited its AI-powered support chatbot to take over high-profile Instagram accounts, adding security and trust concerns around its AI tools and platform controls. Article: Meta faces AI support breach as key internal AI executive exits
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is also facing regulatory and legal pressure, including a Washington high court decision upholding a $35 million campaign finance penalty, which adds to headline risk. Article: Washington high court upholds $35 million campaign finance penalty against Meta

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total transaction of $1,748,612.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 10,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,645,103.65. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total transaction of $4,769,642.01. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $251,641.62. The trade was a 94.99% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 39,013 shares of company stock valued at $24,115,999 over the last 90 days. 13.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META opened at $577.22 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.46 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $796.25. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $621.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $634.10.

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

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 7.63%.

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.