Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Bought by Temasek Holdings Private Ltd

Key Points

• Temasek Holdings increased its Meta Platforms stake by 71.2% in the fourth quarter, buying 152,442 additional shares and ending with 366,511 shares worth about $241.9 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high, with hedge funds and other institutions holding 79.91% of Meta’s shares, while several other funds also initiated new positions during the period.
• Meta’s recent fundamentals were strong: the company beat quarterly EPS and revenue expectations, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share payable June 25.

Temasek Holdings Private Ltd grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 71.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 366,511 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 152,442 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 0.8% of Temasek Holdings Private Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $241,930,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. RHL Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $48,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on META shares. Wolfe Research lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Susquehanna upgraded Meta Platforms from a "positive" rating to a "positive" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Arete Research set a $735.00 target price on Meta Platforms and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group cut Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $840.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total value of $1,268,023.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 1,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at $681,890.56. This trade represents a 65.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total value of $4,769,642.01. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 414 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $251,641.62. This trade represents a 94.99% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders have sold a total of 39,170 shares of company stock valued at $24,218,565 over the last quarter. 13.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $600.21 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.52 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.82, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.23. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $622.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $635.51. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $520.26 and a 52-week high of $796.25.

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. The business had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.43 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.63%.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched AI-powered search on Facebook and new creative tools, which analysts say could expand engagement and create a new revenue stream. Meta introduces AI search and creative tools, Bank of America flags emerging monetization opportunity
• Positive Sentiment: Threads hit 500 million monthly active users, and Meta is rolling out new features to strengthen the app’s role inside its broader social network portfolio. Meta's Threads reaches 500 million monthly users, rolls out new features
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating, citing Meta’s AI strategy as a key growth catalyst, which adds to investor confidence. BofA Reiterates Buy Rating on Meta Platforms (META) Cites AI Strategy a Key Growth Catalyst
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta will pay its next quarterly dividend on June 25, continuing its shareholder-return program, which is supportive but not a major near-term catalyst. Meta to pay dividends next week; Here's how much 100 META shares will earn
• Negative Sentiment: Meta continues to face legal and reputational pressure related to youth safety and harmful content, which can weigh on sentiment even when the underlying business is improving. Italian mother takes on Meta, TikTok after daughter's death
• Negative Sentiment: Apple is moving deeper into AI-enabled wearables, creating a potential competitive threat to Meta’s AI glasses and broader consumer-device ambitions. Apple to launch AI-juiced AirPods and sunglasses, going head-to-head with Meta

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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