Mizuho Markets Americas LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Mizuho Markets Americas LLC increased its Meta Platforms stake by 36.4% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 105,000 shares worth about $69.3 million.
• Meta continues to draw support from major analysts, with RBC reiterating an Outperform rating and an $810 price target, while Bank of America maintained a Buy view on its AI monetization potential.
• The company recently posted strong quarterly results, including EPS of $10.44 versus $6.67 expected and revenue of $56.31 billion, while also declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share.

Mizuho Markets Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 36.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 105,000 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 28,000 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.3% of Mizuho Markets Americas LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $69,309,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of META. Westchester Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 36.8% during the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 78 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total transaction of $1,748,612.10. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 10,557 shares in the company, valued at $6,645,103.65. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the company'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 transaction, the chief technology officer owned 414 shares in the company, valued at $251,641.62. This trade represents a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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 40,890 shares of company stock valued at $25,315,558 over the last three months. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed its Outperform rating on Meta and set an $810 price target, signaling meaningful upside from current levels. Tickerreport.com
• Positive Sentiment: A new AI adoption study ranked Meta among the top S&P 500 companies for AI execution, reinforcing the view that its AI investments are becoming strategically important. CNBC
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating and said Meta’s AI monetization and enterprise adoption could help offset concerns about rising spending. Yahoo Finance / Investing.com
• Positive Sentiment: Several outlets highlighted Meta as a top AI and virtual reality stock, adding to the longer-term bullish narrative around its product pipeline and AI push. Motley Fool

Meta Platforms Trading Down 5.1%

META opened at $600.47 on Tuesday. 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 $1.52 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.23. The business's 50 day moving average price is $617.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $636.73. 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 (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.43 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is 7.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

META has been the topic of several recent research reports. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and set a $760.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and set a $725.00 target price (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. TD Cowen lowered 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. Roth Mkm restated a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $840.19.

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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