Associated Banc Corp Has $46.24 Million Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Associated Banc Corp trimmed its Meta Platforms stake by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, but still held 70,054 shares valued at about $46.24 million, making Meta its 21st-largest holding and roughly 1.2% of its portfolio.
• Meta’s latest quarterly results were strong, with EPS of $10.44 beating expectations and revenue of $56.31 billion topping estimates; revenue also rose 33.1% year over year. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share.
• Wall Street sentiment remains broadly positive despite some mixed ratings, with the stock carrying a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price of about $840.19. Recent headlines also highlight optimism around Meta’s AI monetization and enterprise adoption, even as insiders have been selling shares under pre-arranged trading plans.

Associated Banc Corp cut its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 70,054 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 3,483 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.2% of Associated Banc Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Associated Banc Corp's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $46,242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in META. First National Bank Sioux Falls increased its position in Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the 4th 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 period. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 1.4% in 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 period. Vista Capital Partners Inc. increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. Arcataur Capital Management LLC increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Acorn Creek Capital LLC increased its position in 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 valued at $1,398,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on META shares. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $900.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Tigress Financial upped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $725.00 target price (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Arete Research reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $840.19.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 5.1%

META opened at $600.47 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The company's 50-day moving average is $617.71 and its 200 day moving average is $636.73. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.52 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.83, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.43 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 7.63%.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed its Outperform rating on Meta and set an $810 price target, signaling meaningful upside from current levels. Tickerreport.com
• Positive Sentiment: A new AI adoption study ranked Meta among the top S&P 500 companies for AI execution, reinforcing the view that its AI investments are becoming strategically important. CNBC
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating and said Meta’s AI monetization and enterprise adoption could help offset concerns about rising spending. Yahoo Finance / Investing.com
• Positive Sentiment: Several outlets highlighted Meta as a top AI and virtual reality stock, adding to the longer-term bullish narrative around its product pipeline and AI push. Motley Fool

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,014,978.24. The trade was a 41.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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, COO Javier Olivan sold 837 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $608.98, for a total transaction of $509,716.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 13,823 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,417,930.54. This represents a 5.71% 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 40,890 shares of company stock worth $25,315,558. Insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

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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