Huntington National Bank Increases Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Huntington National Bank increased its Meta Platforms stake by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, adding 9,958 shares to bring its total to 363,880 shares valued at about $240.2 million.
• Meta continues to attract heavy institutional ownership, with firms like Vanguard and State Street also boosting positions; overall, 79.91% of the stock is held by hedge funds and other institutions.
• Despite strong recent earnings, Meta is facing several headwinds, including reports of a possible stock sale to fund AI infrastructure, delays in AI product rollout, and renewed privacy and regulatory concerns.

Huntington National Bank grew its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 363,880 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,958 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 1.4% of Huntington National Bank's portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Huntington National Bank's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $240,193,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in META. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $132,015,115,000 after acquiring an additional 7,269,279 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings 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. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,191,175,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $813,994,000. Finally, Concentrum Wealth Management grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 948.7% during the 3rd quarter. Concentrum Wealth Management now owns 1,243,577 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $913,000 after buying an additional 1,124,998 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Negative Sentiment: Meta is reportedly weighing a large stock sale to fund AI infrastructure, sparking dilution concerns and pressuring the shares. Article: Meta weighs big equity raising after blockbuster Google deal
• Negative Sentiment: Meta’s AI rollout has faced another delay, with the Muse Spark developer API still lacking a launch date, raising questions about when the company can monetize its AI investments. Article: Meta repeatedly pushes back new AI model release for developers
• Negative Sentiment: Privacy concerns resurfaced after reports that Meta smart glasses could use facial-recognition-style “faceprint” tracking, which could invite regulatory scrutiny and consumer backlash. Article: Code Reveals Meta Smart Glasses Can Use 'Faceprint' Tracking, Raising Privacy Alarms
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is also battling renewed policy and legal pressure in Australia over proposed payments for news, adding another regulatory overhang. Article: Meta accuses Australia of breaching FTA, invokes US 'trade action'
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta continues to receive bullish long-term commentary from some analysts and investors who view it as a major AI and advertising platform, but that optimism is being overshadowed today by funding and execution concerns. Article: Analyst Sees Multi-Billion Dollar Potential In Meta Platforms’ Subscription Model

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $593.00 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $618.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $636.57. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $796.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35. The stock has a market cap of $1.50 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.43 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on META shares. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $810.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Roth Mkm restated a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Guggenheim dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $840.60.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In related news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 504 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $629.29, for a total transaction of $317,162.16. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,943 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,481,290.47. This trade represents a 11.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 837 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $629.29, for a total value of $526,715.73. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 12,986 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,171,959.94. This represents a 6.06% 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 42,860 shares of company stock valued at $26,555,260. 13.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Company 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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