Ninety One North America Inc. Takes Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Ninety One North America purchased a new stake of 5,408 Meta shares valued at approximately $3.57 million during Q4, while institutional ownership of the stock is about 79.91%.
• Meta beat Q1 expectations with EPS $8.88 vs. $8.16 and revenue of $59.89 billion (up 23.8% year-over-year); the company has a $1.72 trillion market cap and an average analyst price target near $837.
• Key risks include a China veto of Meta’s ~$2 billion Manus acquisition and heavy insider selling (165,600 shares in the last 90 days), which could amplify volatility despite bullish AI ad and infrastructure momentum.

Ninety One North America Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 5,408 shares of the social networking company's stock, valued at approximately $3,570,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sentinel Pension Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.6% in the third quarter. Sentinel Pension Advisors LLC now owns 915 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.3% in the third quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management now owns 4,301 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $3,159,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.2% in the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 454 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the second quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $794,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JGP Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the third quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,274 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,653,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $678.62 on Tuesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $796.25. 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 capitalization of $1.72 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $629.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $648.75.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The social networking company reported $8.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.16 by $0.72. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.08% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The firm had revenue of $59.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $8.02 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Meta Platforms News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI-driven ad thesis and upbeat Q1 outlook — analysts and bullish commentators say Meta’s ad revenue is being re-accelerated by AI improvements, and some expect another beat-and-raise around the April 29 results, supporting upside for shares. Meta Q1: AI Ad Thesis Getting Stronger
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic infrastructure partnerships — Meta signed a pact with Overview Energy for space-based solar to power data centers (longer-term operational/energy advantage) and a multi-year partnership with CBRE to train fiber technicians, both reinforcing infrastructure and cost/scale plans. Meta partners with space startup Overview Energy to secure solar power for data centers Meta Platforms (META) Partners With CBRE to Train Fiber Technicians
• Positive Sentiment: Commercial AI partnerships with cloud providers — broader coverage of AI partnerships (including reports that AWS and others are working with AI players) underscores demand for Meta’s AI-driven products and ad monetization potential. Amazon Is About to Report Q1 Earnings. Do Options Traders Expect a Major Move in AMZN Stock?
• Neutral Sentiment: Big Tech earnings theme — the upcoming Magnificent Seven reports (including Meta) are being framed around AI monetization and cloud demand; this macro narrative can lift or pressure META depending on actual ad/cloud signals. Big Tech faces key earnings test on AI spending and cloud growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional interest — Meta appears on several “top buy” lists and remains heavily held by hedge funds, which supports liquidity but can increase volatility around earnings. 5 Best Big Name Stocks to Buy
• Negative Sentiment: China blocks Manus acquisition — Beijing ordered Meta to unwind its ~$2B purchase of Manus, a setback for Meta’s agentic-AI capability buildout and a reminder of geopolitical risk in cross-border AI deals; this is the biggest immediate negative catalyst. China vetoes Meta's $2B Manus deal after months-long probe
• Negative Sentiment: Options/volatility and margin concerns — some observers warn that heavy bullish options positioning and rising AI-related spending (Reality Labs and infra/CapEx) leave META exposed to a post-earnings volatility collapse or margin-pressure-driven pullback. Meta's Stock May Plunge Following Results Buy, Sell or Hold Meta Platforms Stock? Key Tips Ahead of Q1 Earnings

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $667.00, for a total transaction of $386,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,847 shares in the company, valued at $2,565,949. This represents a 13.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 926 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $680.09, for a total value of $629,763.34. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 9,631 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,549,946.79. This represents a 8.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 165,600 shares of company stock worth $106,023,973. 13.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on META shares. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $850.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Argus reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $800.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $900.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $808.00 to $890.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $837.09.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.