Fisher Funds Management LTD Raises Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Fisher Funds Management LTD increased its Meta Platforms stake by 1.8% in the first quarter, holding 181,787 shares worth about $104.0 million. Meta is now its fourth-largest position and represents 3.1% of the portfolio.
• Several other major institutions also boosted or established large positions in Meta, and institutional investors now own 79.91% of the company’s stock. This underscores continued strong institutional interest in the shares.
• Recent Meta news was largely upbeat, including the launch of lower-priced AI smart glasses with EssilorLuxottica and reports that Meta is building a prediction markets app called “Arena.” At the same time, the company faces added regulatory and privacy scrutiny from the EU and U.S. officials.

Fisher Funds Management LTD raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 1.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 181,787 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 3,256 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 3.1% of Fisher Funds Management LTD's portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Fisher Funds Management LTD's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $104,006,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 105,292,277 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $69,502,379,000 after purchasing an additional 105,154,977 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $22,152,075,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $132,015,115,000 after purchasing an additional 7,269,279 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 488.1% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,466,595 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $3,608,445,000 after purchasing an additional 4,537,076 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 90,841,345 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $59,963,463,000 after purchasing an additional 4,395,763 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta and EssilorLuxottica launched a new, lower-priced line of AI smart glasses starting at $299, which could broaden adoption of Meta’s wearables strategy and support future hardware revenue. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Meta is reportedly building an independent prediction markets app, “Arena,” signaling another potential product category that could increase user engagement and open a new monetization avenue. New York Times article
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and bullish commentary continue to point to strong AI monetization potential and meaningful upside in Meta shares, suggesting investors still see long-term value despite recent weakness. Reuters article
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is expanding Instagram TV-style features to more devices and adding AI-powered video tools, a sign of continued product iteration aimed at boosting engagement. Zacks article
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta named Indian fintech founder Kunal Shah to lead WhatsApp and invested $900 million in CRED, highlighting a push to diversify monetization around messaging and India. Reuters article
• Negative Sentiment: The European Union is escalating its probe into whether Facebook and Instagram use addictive design features that harm children, adding to Meta’s regulatory risk in Europe. Reuters article
• Negative Sentiment: The Trump administration is reportedly pressing Meta to submit its AI models for voluntary security review, raising the possibility of more oversight and compliance costs. Reuters article
• Negative Sentiment: Meta also paused an internal mouse-tracking program after data-security concerns, reinforcing investor worries about privacy and workplace-data issues. Reuters article

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

META stock opened at $562.20 on Wednesday. The business's fifty day moving average is $618.63 and its 200-day moving average is $632.97. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a market cap of $1.42 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.43 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $835.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Susquehanna raised shares of Meta Platforms from a "positive" rating to a "positive" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $840.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total transaction of $4,769,642.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $251,641.62. The trade was a 94.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,014,978.24. This trade represents a 41.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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 a total of 39,013 shares of company stock worth $24,115,999 in the last ninety days. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.