Jennison Associates LLC Sells 3,351,198 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Jennison Associates LLC cut its Meta Platforms stake by 28.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 3.35 million shares and leaving it with 8.35 million shares worth about $5.51 billion. Meta still represented 3.3% of the firm’s portfolio and its 8th-largest holding.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive on Meta, with several firms maintaining or raising price targets; the consensus rating is Moderate Buy and the average target price is $840.31. Recent analyst moves included Wedbush raising its target to $900 and Guggenheim and Raymond James lowering theirs to $800.
• Meta’s latest earnings were strong, with Q1 EPS of $10.44 beating estimates and revenue of $56.31 billion topping forecasts. The stock opened at $609.63, and the company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, or $2.10 annualized.

Jennison Associates LLC lessened its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 28.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,350,538 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 3,351,198 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 3.3% of Jennison Associates LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Jennison Associates LLC owned about 0.33% of Meta Platforms worth $5,512,107,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 36.8% during the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 78 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 64.8% during the 3rd quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, PMV Capital Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 26.3% during the 4th quarter. PMV Capital Advisers LLC now owns 96 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. Wedbush upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Friday, March 27th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Guggenheim dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $800.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $840.31.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $609.63 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.54 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.16, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $627.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $645.30. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week 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.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. The business had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.43 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th were paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is presently 7.63%.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts remain bullish on Meta Platforms, with recent notes from firms like BofA and Erste Group lifting earnings estimates or price targets after strong Q1 results, reinforcing expectations for meaningful upside. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s AI push is drawing attention as the company reportedly works on AI agents and improved models like Muse Spark, which could support new products and future monetization opportunities. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary pieces continue to frame Meta as an important AI and large-cap tech name, but these are mostly opinion-driven and do not add new fundamental information for the stock. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta was also mentioned in a deal roundup about acquiring Assured Robot Intelligence, but the report provided little detail, so the market impact is unclear. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Reports highlighting employee dissatisfaction and impending layoffs suggest Meta’s AI transformation is creating internal friction, while also reminding investors that the company’s AI ambitions come with higher costs. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concern remains centered on Meta’s enormous 2026 capex plan, estimated at $125 billion to $145 billion, which is fueling fears that profitability could come under pressure before AI investments pay off. Article Title

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 926 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.74, for a total value of $562,767.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 7,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,727,609.46. The trade was a 10.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $667.00, for a total value of $386,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,847 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,565,949. The trade was a 13.10% 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 167,676 shares of company stock valued at $107,299,848. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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