National Pension Service Has $3.04 Billion Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• National Pension Service increased its Meta Platforms stake by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, ending with 4,607,770 shares valued at about $3.04 billion. Meta now represents 2.3% of the fund’s portfolio and its 9th-largest holding.
• Several other institutional investors also boosted their positions in Meta, and institutions overall own 79.91% of the company’s stock. This suggests continued strong professional investor interest despite recent volatility.
• Meta’s shares were down 5.5% in Friday trading, even though the company recently beat earnings expectations. Analysts currently hold a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $840.60.

National Pension Service raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,607,770 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 137,571 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 2.3% of National Pension Service's portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.18% of Meta Platforms worth $3,041,543,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in META. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 34.2% during the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 52,252 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $38,373,000 after acquiring an additional 13,311 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 133,798 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $88,319,000 after acquiring an additional 18,169 shares in the last quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.0% during the third quarter. Becker Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,052 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $25,741,000 after acquiring an additional 1,657 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 84,059 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $55,487,000 after acquiring an additional 3,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 16.2% during the third quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC now owns 6,933 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,091,000 after acquiring an additional 968 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Negative Sentiment: Meta is reportedly weighing a large stock sale to fund AI infrastructure, sparking dilution concerns and pressuring the shares. Article: Meta weighs big equity raising after blockbuster Google deal
• Negative Sentiment: Meta’s AI rollout has faced another delay, with the Muse Spark developer API still lacking a launch date, raising questions about when the company can monetize its AI investments. Article: Meta repeatedly pushes back new AI model release for developers
• Negative Sentiment: Privacy concerns resurfaced after reports that Meta smart glasses could use facial-recognition-style “faceprint” tracking, which could invite regulatory scrutiny and consumer backlash. Article: Code Reveals Meta Smart Glasses Can Use 'Faceprint' Tracking, Raising Privacy Alarms
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is also battling renewed policy and legal pressure in Australia over proposed payments for news, adding another regulatory overhang. Article: Meta accuses Australia of breaching FTA, invokes US 'trade action'
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta continues to receive bullish long-term commentary from some analysts and investors who view it as a major AI and advertising platform, but that optimism is being overshadowed today by funding and execution concerns. Article: Analyst Sees Multi-Billion Dollar Potential In Meta Platforms’ Subscription Model

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Benchmark assumed coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday. They set a "buy" rating for the company. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $750.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Citizens Jmp restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $900.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $840.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total transaction of $1,268,023.68. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,118 shares in the company, valued at $681,890.56. This trade represents a 65.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of Meta Platforms 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 owned 10,557 shares in the company, valued at $6,645,103.65. This represents a 20.83% 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 42,860 shares of company stock worth $26,555,260. 13.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 5.5%

Shares of META stock opened at $593.00 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $796.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm's 50 day moving average is $618.83 and its 200 day moving average is $636.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.23.

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 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 company had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.43 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.63%.

Meta Platforms 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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