Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. Grows Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 13.1% during the first quarter, now holding 78,900 shares worth approximately $45.5 million.
• Several institutional investors also boosted their holdings in Meta Platforms, contributing to the fact that 79.91% of the company's stock is now owned by hedge funds and institutional investors.
• Wall Street analysts have raised their price targets for Meta Platforms, with estimates reaching up to $980, reflecting a strong positive sentiment towards the stock.

Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. boosted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 13.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 78,900 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,120 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 2.2% of Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $45,475,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 67,172.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 23,452,665 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $13,517,178,000 after purchasing an additional 23,417,803 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.3% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,669,795 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $10,184,163,000 after acquiring an additional 400,927 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 15,575,962 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $8,977,361,000 after acquiring an additional 1,255,546 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 12,007,308 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $7,030,399,000 after acquiring an additional 280,357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.5% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,041,171 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,787,329,000 after acquiring an additional 247,850 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on META. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $740.00 to $840.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC raised Meta Platforms from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Wedbush increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $920.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $822.41.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded up $3.80 during trading on Friday, hitting $752.45. 9,655,823 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,390,477. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 1.97. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $479.80 and a 1 year high of $796.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.89 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.24, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $738.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $659.06.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $1.39. The company had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.55 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 39.99%.Meta Platforms's revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.16 earnings per share. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $753.43, for a total value of $11,939,605.21. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,332 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $764.71, for a total value of $14,018,663.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 84,141 shares in the company, valued at $64,343,464.11. The trade was a 17.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 312,341 shares of company stock valued at $234,443,690. Insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

About Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc engages in the development of products that enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality headsets, and wearables worldwide. It operates in two segments, Family of Apps and Reality Labs. The Family of Apps segment offers Facebook, which enables people to share, discuss, discover, and connect with interests; Instagram, a community for sharing photos, videos, and private messages, as well as feed, stories, reels, video, live, and shops; Messenger, a messaging application for people to connect with friends, family, communities, and businesses across platforms and devices through text, audio, and video calls; and WhatsApp, a messaging application that is used by people and businesses to communicate and transact privately.