Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Acquired by Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co

Key Points

• Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co slightly increased its Meta stake in the fourth quarter, adding 1,200 shares to bring its total to 375,244 shares worth about $247.7 million.
• Meta reported a strong quarter, with EPS of $10.44 beating estimates and revenue rising 33.1% year over year to $56.31 billion.
• Wall Street sentiment remains constructive, with analysts maintaining a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $840.31, even as some firms adjusted their targets.

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 375,244 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 1.5% of Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co's holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $247,695,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of META. Truist Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 998,921 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $659,377,000 after purchasing an additional 18,029 shares during the period. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. now owns 1,372 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $906,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Sun Financial Inc purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at $2,090,000. Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,114 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $2,716,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Preferred LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC now owns 6,300 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $4,098,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 926 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $604.57, for a total value of $559,831.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 6,853 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,143,118.21. The trade was a 11.90% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 169,231 shares of company stock valued at $108,239,954 over the last ninety days. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $618.43 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.25. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $623.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $640.90. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 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 the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.Meta Platforms's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.43 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on META. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $935.00 to $945.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $885.00 to $820.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 20th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $910.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $800.00 target price (down from $880.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $840.31.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s recent earnings beat and revenue growth remain a key bullish driver, reinforcing the view that ad demand and AI-driven monetization are still accelerating. Analysts highlighted stronger advertiser tools and engagement as signs the business can keep compounding. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Meta is rolling out new privacy features for WhatsApp and AI chats, including an “incognito” mode, which could help address user trust concerns while supporting adoption of its AI products. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that WhatsApp monetization could expand through a premium subscription add another potential high-margin revenue stream, giving investors more confidence in Meta’s long-term earnings power. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary around Meta’s AI infrastructure spending and talent push suggests management is still investing aggressively in future growth, which some investors view as necessary to defend its competitive position. Article Title

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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