Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Position Lessened by Meiji Yasuda America Inc

Key Points

• Meiji Yasuda America Inc. reduced its Meta Platforms stake by 18.2% in the first quarter, selling 4,648 shares and leaving it with 20,886 shares worth about $11.95 million.
• Meta’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $10.44 on revenue of $56.31 billion, while revenue jumped 33.1% year over year.
• Sentiment around Meta remains upbeat: analysts largely rate the stock a Moderate Buy, and Wells Fargo recently raised its price target to $835.

Meiji Yasuda America Inc trimmed its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 18.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,886 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 4,648 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 3.0% of Meiji Yasuda America Inc's portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Meiji Yasuda America Inc's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $11,950,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. RHL Group LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Bayban grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Bayban now owns 70 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: A new free verification badge system for Facebook users, which may improve trust and platform quality. Fast Company article
• Positive Sentiment: A dedicated Marketplace seller app with tools for merchants, aimed at making Facebook commerce more useful and organized. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street commentary remained constructive, with articles highlighting Meta as a strong momentum stock and a potentially attractive AI-era value name.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment stayed favorable, including a report that Wells Fargo raised its price target on Meta to $835.00.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.8%

Meta Platforms stock opened at $595.19 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $604.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $625.76. The company has a market capitalization of $1.51 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.25. 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.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. The company had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. Meta Platforms's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.43 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.49 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total value of $2,012,047.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 9,498 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,708,013.06. The trade was a 26.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 value of $5,589,088.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,014,978.24. This trade represents a 41.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 37,948 shares of company stock worth $23,184,319. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on META shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $767.00 to $835.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $840.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $865.00 to $766.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 13th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $835.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $835.64.

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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