Generate Investment Management Ltd Boosts Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Generate Investment Management Ltd increased its Meta Platforms stake by 34.4% in the first quarter, now holding 219,743 shares worth about $125.7 million. Meta is the firm’s 4th-largest holding and makes up 6.2% of its portfolio.
• Meta reported strong first-quarter results, with EPS of $10.44 versus expectations of $6.67 and revenue of $56.31 billion, up 33.1% year over year. Analysts still broadly like the stock, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $840.60.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, or $2.10 annualized, yielding about 0.4%. Meanwhile, insider sales continued and regulatory scrutiny remains a risk, including EU and U.S. probes tied to Meta’s products and AI strategy.

Generate Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 34.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 219,743 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 56,245 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 6.2% of Generate Investment Management Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Generate Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $125,722,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. 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. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $885.00 to $820.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $775.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Wedbush upgraded Meta Platforms from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $840.60.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META stock opened at $557.83 on Thursday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $617.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $632.24. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $796.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.41 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.28, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.43 EPS. The business'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 Announces Dividend

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

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is getting recognition from some investors as a long-term AI winner, with articles highlighting it as a top AI stock in billionaire David Tepper’s portfolio and a high-conviction hedge fund holding.
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s new $299 AI smart glasses broaden its wearable lineup and could help expand consumer adoption beyond higher-priced models. Reuters: Meta announces new range of smart glasses starting at $299
• Positive Sentiment: Facebook is rolling out an AI companion app for creators, which may improve engagement and give Meta another tool to support monetization across its platforms.
• Positive Sentiment: Qualcomm said Meta will be the first major customer for its new data-center CPU, signaling that Meta is continuing to invest heavily in next-generation AI infrastructure. CNBC: Qualcomm announces AI data center CPU, signs Meta as first major customer
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is giving some engineers a way to leave its AI training unit after a recent reorganization, which may help morale but does not directly change the company’s financial outlook. Business Insider: Meta forced thousands of engineers into AI training work. Now it's giving some a way out.
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Meta is building an experimental prediction markets app could open a new consumer product category, but the revenue impact remains uncertain and the project is still early. Reuters: Mark Zuckerberg directed Meta to create a prediction markets app, NYT reports
• Negative Sentiment: European regulators are escalating an investigation into whether Facebook and Instagram use addictive design features for children, increasing the risk of fines or product changes. Reuters: EU to ramp up Meta probe into addictive design, Bloomberg News reports
• Negative Sentiment: The U.S. government is also pressuring Meta to submit AI models for security reviews, adding another layer of regulatory uncertainty around the company’s AI strategy. Reuters: US presses Meta to agree to AI reviews as security concerns rise

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total value of $1,748,612.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 10,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,645,103.65. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total transaction of $5,589,088.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,014,978.24. This trade represents a 41.08% 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 sold a total of 39,013 shares of company stock valued at $24,115,999 over 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.

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