Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Bought by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its Meta stake by 22.6% in Q4 to 1,329,605 shares, holding about $877.7 million of stock and making Meta its 10th-largest position (≈1.9% of holdings).
• Meta beat Q1 estimates with $10.44 EPS and $56.31 billion revenue (up 33% y/y), but raised FY capital-expenditure guidance, reported a >$4B Reality Labs loss and faces EU regulatory scrutiny, prompting a mixed market reaction and share pullback.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 22.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,329,605 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 244,680 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 1.9% of Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned 0.05% of Meta Platforms worth $877,659,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Key Capital Management INC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 64.8% in the 3rd quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. PMV Capital Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 26.3% in the 4th quarter. PMV Capital Advisers LLC now owns 96 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $71,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $669.12 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.60, a current ratio of 2.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $1.69 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $630.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $648.65. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. The business had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.36 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 30.08%.The company's revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.43 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is presently 8.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $930.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $820.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $837.09.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Strong monetization and product moves — Meta continues to monetize AI-driven ad demand and reported robust Q1 results that beat revenue/earnings expectations, supporting the company's growth narrative. Earnings/Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: New revenue/creator options — Meta launched a pilot to pay eligible creators in USDC stablecoins (Colombia, Philippines), which could lower payout friction and open new monetization paths in developing markets. Meta Pays Creators In Stablecoins
• Positive Sentiment: Energy/infra partnerships to support AI data centers — Meta announced collaborations (space-based solar, long-duration storage) intended to lock in continuous power for AI workloads, a strategic move to reduce energy risk and support long-term AI capacity. Meta Bets on Space-Based Solar
• Neutral Sentiment: Management disclosures and housekeeping — Meta filed its Q1 results, slide deck and conference materials; COO Javier Oliván executed a planned Rule 10b5-1 sale (disclosed). These are routine but noted by traders. SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Big increase in capital spending — Meta raised FY capital-expenditure guidance substantially (now targeting far larger AI/data-center investment), a near-term cash and free‑cash‑flow headwind that spooked investors. CapEx Forecast Increase
• Negative Sentiment: Reality Labs losses persist — Reality Labs recorded a multibillion-dollar operating loss in Q1 (reported >$4B), reinforcing concerns about long-standing cash burn in AR/VR. Reality Labs Loss
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and legal risks in Europe — EU regulators charged Meta with failing to keep under‑13s off Facebook/Instagram under the Digital Services Act and warned of potential fines; the company also flagged legal scrutiny in its communications. EU Charges
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction to guidance and user growth — Despite strong top-line beats, investors focused on higher spending, mixed user-growth signals and slightly cautious guidance, which led to a pullback in shares after the print. Market Reaction / WSJ

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 629 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $670.84, for a total value of $421,958.36. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 2,372 shares in the company, valued at $1,591,232.48. The trade was a 20.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $667.00, for a total value of $386,860.00. Following the sale, the director owned 3,847 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,565,949. This trade represents a 13.10% 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. Insiders sold a total of 167,155 shares of company stock worth $107,067,129 over the last quarter. Insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

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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