Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stake Lowered by Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA

Key Points

• Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA cut its Meta stake by 21% in the fourth quarter, selling 17,074 shares and leaving it with 64,109 shares valued at about $42.3 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very heavy, with large funds like Vanguard, State Street, and others increasing positions; overall institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of Meta’s stock.
• Meta beat earnings expectations in its latest quarter, posting EPS of $10.44 versus $6.67 expected and revenue of $56.31 billion, even as analysts kept a mostly positive outlook with a “Moderate Buy” consensus.

Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA lowered its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 21.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 64,109 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 17,074 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 2.5% of Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $42,310,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $132,015,115,000 after acquiring an additional 7,269,279 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.9% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $64,158,971,000 after acquiring an additional 1,650,435 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in 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 during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Negative Sentiment: Meta began laying off about 8,000 employees, or roughly 10% of its workforce, as part of a broader AI-first transformation. The move highlights rising restructuring costs and suggests more cuts could follow later this year. Meta Begins Laying Off 8,000 Employees Amid A.I. Transformation
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Meta is cutting jobs while ramping up AI investment have kept attention on margin pressure and the scale of the company’s AI spending bill, which some investors view as a near-term drag on earnings. Meta Moves 7,000 Workers Into AI Roles Ahead of Job Cuts
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta offered rival AI chatbot makers limited free access to WhatsApp in Europe before charging once usage limits are reached. The move could support platform engagement and developer adoption, but the financial impact is still unclear. Exclusive: Meta offers AI rival chatbots limited free WhatsApp access, sources say
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta also drew attention for new AI-related product and safety initiatives, including an incognito chat feature for WhatsApp’s AI assistant and new parental supervision tools, but these are not likely to move the stock in the near term. Meta Platforms (META) Launching Incognito Chat for WhatsApp AI Assistant

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on META shares. Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $800.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $810.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $910.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $840.31.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $602.61 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. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $796.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $620.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $637.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.52 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion during 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total value of $1,748,612.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 10,557 shares in the company, valued at $6,645,103.65. This trade represents a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total value of $36,471,323.70. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 171,517 shares of company stock worth $109,138,067 over the last 90 days. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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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