Bank of America Corp DE Has $12.04 Billion Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Bank of America increased its Meta position by 14.6% in the first quarter to 21.04 million shares valued at approximately $12.04 billion, making Meta its 16th-largest holding. Institutional investors collectively own about 79.9% of Meta’s stock.
• Meta’s second-quarter revenue rose 28% year over year to $60.8 billion, but EPS of $6.18 missed estimates of $7.19. Heavy AI infrastructure spending sharply reduced free cash flow and increased investor concerns about returns and future obligations.
• Despite the spending concerns, analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus, with an average price target of $789.95; individual targets range from $680 to $1,000.

Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 14.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,038,035 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,673,494 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up about 0.9% of Bank of America Corp DE's portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.83% of Meta Platforms worth $12,036,491,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of META. RHL Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Bayban raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Bayban now owns 70 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Key Capital Management INC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s core advertising business remains strong. Second-quarter revenue increased 28% year over year to $60.8 billion, while ad impressions, pricing, engagement and AI-powered recommendation tools continued to improve. Advantage+ advertising reportedly reached a $75 billion annualized run rate. Meta: Buy The AI Spending Panic
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts and investment commentators view the selloff as an opportunity, arguing that Meta’s advertising engine can fund its AI investments and that AI is already improving ad performance, personalization and user engagement. Meta also highlighted potential enterprise AI products, personal AI agents and new applications. Buy Meta’s Earnings Drop
• Positive Sentiment: Despite reductions, major firms retained bullish ratings and price targets, including UBS at $715, Baird at $750, Cantor Fitzgerald at $680 and Rosenblatt at $883. The targets imply substantial long-term upside if Meta converts AI spending into monetization. Meta Given New Price Target at Baird
• Neutral Sentiment: The earnings miss was partly affected by approximately $2.4 billion in legal charges and $1.2 billion in severance costs. Excluding these items, supporters argue that underlying profitability was healthier, but reported margins still declined.
• Negative Sentiment: Meta reported $6.18 in quarterly EPS, below expectations near $7.19, while free cash flow fell to only $784 million from $31.9 billion in operating cash flow as AI data-center capital expenditures surged. Investors remain unconvinced that the spending will generate adequate returns soon. Tech’s AI Buildout Has Ballooning Price Tag
• Negative Sentiment: Future AI-related lease obligations reached $279 billion, increasing concerns about balance-sheet commitments and execution risk. Additional legal and regulatory pressure includes a wrongful-death lawsuit alleging that social-media companies harmed minors, plus an Indian police case involving Meta’s India chief over Facebook posts depicting Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Meta’s AI Splurge Lays Bare Its Compute Conundrum

Meta Platforms Stock Up 3.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $556.71 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $601.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $622.97. The company has a market cap of $1.41 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.97, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.35. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The business had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $60.22 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $7.14 EPS. Meta Platforms's revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 7.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. Bank of America lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $835.00 to $810.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $750.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. 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 report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $1,015.00 to $883.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $789.95.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total transaction of $1,268,023.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares in the company, valued at $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 is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total transaction of $2,012,047.56. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 9,498 shares in the company, valued at $5,708,013.06. This represents a 26.06% 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. Insiders sold 39,325 shares of company stock valued at $23,979,087 over the last 90 days. 13.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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