China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 5,905 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• China Universal Asset Management raised its stake in Meta by 12.1%, buying 5,905 shares to hold 54,759 shares worth $36.15 million, making Meta ~2.8% of the fund's holdings and its 7th largest position.
• Meta posted a strong quarter, reporting $10.44 EPS vs. $6.67 expected and $56.31 billion in revenue (up 33.1% year‑over‑year), supporting a robust profit margin and higher analyst expectations for the year.
• Meta faces significant near‑term risks from litigation and regulation — including publisher copyright suits over AI training, EU/Irish probes, a New Mexico youth‑harm trial seeking up to $3.7B in remedies — alongside heavy capex plans (≈$13B data‑center financing) that could pressure free cash flow.

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 12.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,759 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,905 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 2.8% of China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $36,146,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.9% in the 2nd 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 during the period. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 39,247,690 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $28,823,375,000 after acquiring an additional 278,180 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,153,754 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $12,597,374,000 after acquiring an additional 142,229 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,332,168 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $10,525,258,000 after acquiring an additional 558,792 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,619,341 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $10,001,772,000 after acquiring an additional 481,276 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $604.96 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.53 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $796.25. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $628.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $646.71.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The company had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.43 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is presently 7.63%.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat and AI-driven ad pricing — Meta reported stronger-than-expected revenue and EPS, with AI-powered ad tools and pricing cited as driving high revenue growth and improved monetization, supporting upside case for ad margins and cash flow. Meta: Keep Calm And Focus On Muse, Spark And Record Revenue Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Expansion of teen-safety and age-verification tech — Meta announced it will roll out new AI safeguards for teens across 27 EU countries and to Facebook in the U.S., including visual AI checks to help flag under‑13 accounts; this may reduce regulatory pressure but could carry implementation costs and user-friction risk. Meta to expand teen safeguards to 27 EU countries, Facebook safeguards in June
• Neutral Sentiment: Product roadmap: advanced 'agentic' AI assistant — FT/Reuters report that Meta is building a highly personalized AI assistant that can act on users' behalf. Positive for long-term engagement but highlights why investors are watching rising AI R&D and capex. Meta plans advanced 'agentic' AI assistant for users, FT reports
• Neutral Sentiment: Big capex and data‑center financing — Bloomberg/Reuters report Meta is lining up ~ $13B financing for an El Paso data center, underscoring heavy near‑term cash commitments that support growth but pressure free cash flow. Meta taps Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan for El Paso data center deal, Bloomberg News reports
• Negative Sentiment: New Mexico youth‑harm trial and potential remedies — State seeks sweeping changes and up to $3.7B plus injunction-style platform changes in ongoing trial alleging harm to children; a court order could force product changes and sizable remediation costs. New Mexico seeks changes to Meta platforms in youth harm trial
• Negative Sentiment: Major publishers sue over AI training — Large publishers (Elsevier, Macmillan, McGraw Hill, Hachette, etc.) filed copyright suits alleging Meta used books and journals to train Llama; litigation could lead to damages, injunctive relief or changes to data‑use practices. Major publishers sue Meta for copyright infringement over AI training
• Negative Sentiment: EU/Irish regulatory scrutiny — Ireland opened probes into Instagram/Facebook algorithmic personalization and Meta is contesting an EU order that could force rival AI chatbot access on WhatsApp; regulatory actions could impose operational constraints or fines. Ireland probles Meta's Instagram, Facebook over EU manipulation concerns Meta seeks to fend off EU order to allow rival AI chatbots on WhatsApp at hearing
• Negative Sentiment: Reputational/legal fallout and shareholder scrutiny — Reuters won a Pulitzer on Meta investigations into harmful chatbots/fraudulent ads; law firms and shareholder groups are probing the board for oversight breaches, increasing litigation and governance risk. Reuters wins beat reporting Pulitzer for Meta investigations

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $631.24, for a total transaction of $5,106,100.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 2,841 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,793,352.84. The trade was a 74.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 10,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,645,103.65. The trade was a 20.83% 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. Insiders sold 166,638 shares of company stock valued at $106,697,681 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Arete Research reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $760.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Four investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $840.31.

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.

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