Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Purchased by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group increased its Meta Platforms stake by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, buying 115,471 more shares and bringing its holdings to 3.81 million shares worth about $2.51 billion.
• Meta continues to attract strong institutional interest, with 79.91% of shares held by hedge funds and other institutions, including large additions from Vanguard, State Street, and other major investors.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive on META: analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $840.31, while Meta also recently beat earnings expectations with strong revenue growth.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,808,675 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 115,471 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises about 1.3% of Principal Financial Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.15% of Meta Platforms worth $2,514,080,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $132,015,115,000 after purchasing an additional 7,269,279 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $64,158,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,650,435 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 39,247,690 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $28,823,375,000 after purchasing an additional 278,180 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,153,754 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $12,597,374,000 after purchasing an additional 142,229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,332,168 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $10,525,258,000 after purchasing an additional 558,792 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $850.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $775.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 30th. Wedbush lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $810.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on Meta Platforms from $808.00 to $890.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $840.31.

More 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 Stock Up 0.3%

META opened at $618.43 on Friday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $623.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $640.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $796.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.56 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 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 business had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.43 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.65 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Meta Platforms news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 3,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,565,949. The trade was a 13.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 that occurred on 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 owned 6,853 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,143,118.21. This represents a 11.90% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 169,231 shares of company stock valued at $108,239,954. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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