Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Acquires 14,841 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI increased its Meta stake by 9.3% in the first quarter, buying 14,841 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 174,900 shares worth about $100.1 million.
• Meta’s recent earnings were strong, with quarterly EPS of $10.44 versus $6.67 expected and revenue of $56.31 billion, up 33.1% from a year ago.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish on Meta, with multiple firms reiterating buy/overweight ratings and a consensus price target of about $835.64 despite some mixed target cuts.

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 9.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 174,900 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 14,841 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up 2.1% of Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $100,066,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RHL Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Bayban lifted its position in shares of 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, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider owned 1,118 shares in the company, valued at $681,890.56. The trade was a 65.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total value of $2,012,047.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 9,498 shares in the company, valued at $5,708,013.06. This trade represents a 26.06% 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 37,948 shares of company stock valued at $23,184,319. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on META shares. Barclays increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Guggenheim decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $835.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $1,015.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $750.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $835.64.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: A new free verification badge system for Facebook users, which may improve trust and platform quality. Fast Company article
• Positive Sentiment: A dedicated Marketplace seller app with tools for merchants, aimed at making Facebook commerce more useful and organized. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street commentary remained constructive, with articles highlighting Meta as a strong momentum stock and a potentially attractive AI-era value name.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment stayed favorable, including a report that Wells Fargo raised its price target on Meta to $835.00.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META opened at $595.19 on Friday. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $604.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $625.76. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $796.25. The company has a market capitalization of $1.51 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted 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 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 analysts' expectations of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.43 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.49 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

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