Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Bought by Fifth Third Bancorp

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp increased its Meta Platforms stake by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, buying 22,083 more shares and lifting its total holding to 800,858 shares valued at about $528.6 million.
• Meta insiders have been selling shares: CTO Andrew Bosworth and CFO Susan J. Li both disclosed large sales, and insiders sold 167,676 shares worth roughly $107.3 million over the last quarter.
• Meta posted strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates with $10.44 EPS and $56.31 billion in revenue, while analysts still maintain a generally constructive outlook with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating.

Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 800,858 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 22,083 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 1.7% of Fifth Third Bancorp's portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $528,638,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% in the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 454 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 2,001 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,321,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 984 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $649,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Vista Capital Partners Inc. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the second quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $794,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Finally, Forza Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 3.9% in the third quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 402 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 8,089 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $631.24, for a total transaction of $5,106,100.36. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 2,841 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,793,352.84. This trade represents a 74.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total value of $36,471,323.70. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 167,676 shares of company stock worth $107,299,848. Insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META opened at $598.86 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $520.26 and a 1 year high of $796.25. The stock has a market cap of $1.51 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.25. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $625.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $643.49.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.43 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on META shares. Pivotal Research lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $930.00 to $910.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $920.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $910.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock 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 given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $840.31.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Negative Sentiment: Santa Clara County sued Meta, alleging the company earned money from scam advertisements on Facebook and Instagram and violated California false advertising and unfair business practices laws. California county sues Meta over scam ads
• Negative Sentiment: Another report highlighted the same lawsuit, framing it as a claim that Meta earned billions from scam Facebook ads, reinforcing investor worries about reputational damage and possible legal costs. Meta accused of earning billions from scam Facebook ads in new California lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: A plaintiffs’ law firm also announced an investigation into Meta’s board over possible breaches of fiduciary duty tied to privacy oversight and AI training practices, which could keep governance concerns in focus. Berger Montague PC Investigates Meta Platforms, Inc.'s Board of Directors for Breach of Fiduciary Duty (META)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary remained constructive overall, with coverage noting that Wall Street still sees upside in Meta despite recent post-earnings volatility, which may help limit downside. Meta Platforms’ Wild Post-Earnings Swings: Where Analyst Price Targets Stand Now

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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