Guinness Asset Management LTD Increases Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Guinness Asset Management increased its Meta Platforms stake by 13.7% in the fourth quarter, adding 9,674 shares and bringing its total holding to 80,282 shares worth about $52.9 million.
• Institutional ownership remains heavy, with hedge funds and other institutions owning about 79.91% of Meta’s stock. Several large investors, including Vanguard and State Street, also reported added positions.
• Analyst sentiment is still broadly positive: Meta has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $840.19. Recent commentary highlighted strong earnings, AI execution, and continued bullish calls from major banks and brokerages.

Guinness Asset Management LTD increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 13.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 80,282 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 9,674 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 0.9% of Guinness Asset Management LTD's portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Guinness Asset Management LTD's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $52,881,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in 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 last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $64,158,971,000 after buying an additional 1,650,435 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 278,180 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 142,229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 558,792 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Citizens Jmp reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $900.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $1,015.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $935.00 to $945.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $760.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $840.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total value of $1,268,023.68. Following the sale, the insider owned 1,118 shares in the company, valued at $681,890.56. This represents a 65.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 837 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $608.98, for a total value of $509,716.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 13,823 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,417,930.54. The trade was a 5.71% 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 have sold 40,890 shares of company stock worth $25,315,558 over the last ninety days. 13.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 5.1%

Shares of META opened at $600.47 on Tuesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $796.25. 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 capitalization of $1.52 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.83, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.23. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $617.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $636.73.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.43 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.63%.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed its Outperform rating on Meta and set an $810 price target, signaling meaningful upside from current levels. Tickerreport.com
• Positive Sentiment: A new AI adoption study ranked Meta among the top S&P 500 companies for AI execution, reinforcing the view that its AI investments are becoming strategically important. CNBC
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating and said Meta’s AI monetization and enterprise adoption could help offset concerns about rising spending. Yahoo Finance / Investing.com
• Positive Sentiment: Several outlets highlighted Meta as a top AI and virtual reality stock, adding to the longer-term bullish narrative around its product pipeline and AI push. Motley Fool

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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