Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Raises Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its Meta Platforms stake by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, ending with 1,872,087 shares valued at about $1.24 billion. Meta is now the fund’s 5th-largest holding and makes up roughly 3.4% of its portfolio.
• Institutional interest in Meta remains strong overall, with firms like Vanguard and State Street also raising positions; institutions collectively own 79.91% of the company. At the same time, Meta insiders have been selling shares recently, including CTO Andrew Bosworth and COO Javier Olivan.
• Meta’s stock was trading around $610 and the company continues to show solid fundamentals, including a recent earnings beat with $10.44 EPS versus $6.67 expected and revenue up 33.1% year over year. Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a target price of about $840.19.

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,872,087 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 36,478 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 3.4% of Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich's portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich owned 0.07% of Meta Platforms worth $1,237,762,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $132,015,115,000 after acquiring an additional 7,269,279 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Meta Platforms by 1.9% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $64,158,971,000 after acquiring an additional 1,650,435 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,191,175,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $813,994,000. Finally, Concentrum Wealth Management raised its position in Meta Platforms by 948.7% during the third quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management now owns 1,243,577 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $913,000 after acquiring an additional 1,124,998 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief technology officer owned 414 shares in the company, valued at $251,641.62. The trade was a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.35, for a total transaction of $510,025.95. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 14,660 shares in the company, valued at $8,933,071. This represents a 5.40% 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 152,728 shares of company stock worth $96,925,217 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of META stock opened at $610.26 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $796.25. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $617.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $637.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.54 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.43 earnings per share. Meta Platforms's revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.49 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched a standalone “Forum” app for Facebook Groups, signaling a new product push that could deepen user engagement and add pressure to competitors like Reddit. Meta quietly launches a new Reddit-like app called Forum
• Positive Sentiment: Meta is cutting jobs and shifting resources toward AI, which investors may view as an efficiency move that supports long-term profit margins and keeps the company focused on its biggest growth area. Meta Cuts 8,000 Jobs, Boosts AI Team: What This Means for Employees
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta also settled a school-district lawsuit over alleged social media addiction harms, removing one legal overhang, though the broader regulatory and litigation risk around its platforms remains. Texas sues Meta, WhatsApp over encryption privacy claims
• Neutral Sentiment: Other headlines around Meta’s dual-class control structure, insider share sales, and broader AI spending debate are adding to the narrative, but they are less likely to drive the stock on their own than the new app launch and workforce reshaping.
• Negative Sentiment: The Texas attorney general’s lawsuit against Meta and WhatsApp over encryption and privacy claims adds another legal risk for investors to monitor. Google, Meta, TikTok face EU consumer complaints about handling of financial scams
• Negative Sentiment: Competition concerns are also in focus after Meta’s Forum app appeared to pressure Reddit shares, reinforcing worries that Meta’s scale lets it copy or crowd out rival social platforms.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on META. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Citizens Jmp reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $900.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $910.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Four 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $840.19.

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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