Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 11.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,148,970 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 119,539 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 1.9% of Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $758,424,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. RHL Group LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Key Capital Management INC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on META shares. TD Cowen reduced 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $725.00 target price (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $760.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Roth Mkm reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their target price on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $840.60.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $585.39 on Tuesday. 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 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $796.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $619.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $636.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.48 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.23.

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 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.43 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.63%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 504 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $629.29, for a total value of $317,162.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,943 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,481,290.47. This trade represents a 11.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 837 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $629.29, for a total value of $526,715.73. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 12,986 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,171,959.94. The trade was a 6.06% decrease in their position. 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 have sold 41,305 shares of company stock valued at $25,567,928. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta announced a partnership with Associated Builders and Contractors to launch a $115 million workforce academy that will train construction technicians for its data center projects, helping address labor shortages and supporting its AI infrastructure expansion. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Italy’s competition regulator dropped its investigation into Meta’s WhatsApp AI bot, removing a legal overhang tied to how the company integrates AI into WhatsApp. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Meta also partnered with Best Buy to create “Meta Lab” experiential spaces where shoppers can test VR headsets and AI glasses, which could help boost hardware awareness and adoption. Article Title

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.