Meta Platforms, Inc. $META is Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp's 6th Largest Position

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp trimmed its Meta stake by 6.1% in Q4, but Meta still ranks as its 6th largest position and about 2.0% of the portfolio, valued at roughly $857 million.
• Meta reported strong quarterly earnings on April 29, posting $10.44 EPS versus the $6.67 consensus and revenue of $56.31 billion, up 33.1% year over year.
• Despite a few recent insider sales and investor worries about heavy AI-related spending, Wall Street remains broadly positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $840.31.

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lowered its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,298,242 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 84,476 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 2.0% of Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned 0.05% of Meta Platforms worth $856,957,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in META. Westchester Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Key Capital Management INC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Dorato Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, PMV Capital Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:META opened at $609.63 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $627.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $645.30. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $796.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.54 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.25.

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, 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.43 EPS. Meta Platforms's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th were issued 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the subject of several recent research reports. Pivotal Research decreased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $930.00 to $910.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Citizens Jmp reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $900.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $910.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Wedbush raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $840.31.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

In other news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $667.00, for a total value of $386,860.00. Following the sale, the director owned 3,847 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,565,949. The trade was a 13.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 926 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.74, for a total transaction of $562,767.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 7,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,727,609.46. The trade was a 10.64% 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 ninety days, insiders sold 168,193 shares of company stock worth $107,642,717. Insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

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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