PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Increases Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• PNC Financial Services increased its Meta Platforms stake by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, ending with 1,368,240 shares valued at about $903.2 million.
• Meta reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $10.44 versus $6.67 expected and revenue of $56.31 billion, up 33.1% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, while analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $840.19.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,368,240 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,204 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned about 0.05% of Meta Platforms worth $903,161,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Westchester Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Key Capital Management INC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 36.8% during the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 78 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 10,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,645,103.65. The trade was a 20.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total value of $5,589,088.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,014,978.24. This trade represents a 41.08% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 40,366 shares of company stock worth $25,038,396 in the last quarter. 13.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched paid subscription plans for Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Meta AI, creating a new monetization path beyond advertising. Early reports suggest the pricing could meaningfully add to revenue over time, and analysts have highlighted upside if adoption builds. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Meta also announced a quarterly cash dividend, which may appeal to income-focused investors and signals confidence in the company’s cash generation. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary remained constructive, with Rosenblatt reaffirming a buy rating and raising its price target, reflecting optimism around Meta’s ad business, AI efforts, and new subscription revenue. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta committed additional funding to its Oversight Board through 2028, which supports governance stability but is unlikely to move the stock much on its own. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: COO Javier Olivan sold shares under a pre-arranged trading plan, which is routine insider activity and not necessarily a bearish signal.
• Negative Sentiment: Meta faces continued legal and reputational overhangs, including a Kentucky trial seeking a large penalty and a Supreme Court setback in the Vermont Instagram addiction case. Article Title

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $635.29 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.61 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $617.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $636.91. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.43 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on META shares. Roth Mkm restated a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $885.00 to $820.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Evercore upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $750.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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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