Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Buys 212,368 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 161.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 343,623 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 212,368 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up about 0.8% of Rakuten Investment Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $226,341,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. RHL Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Key Capital Management INC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the firm'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 trade represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total value of $1,268,023.68. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,118 shares in the company, valued at $681,890.56. The trade was a 65.03% 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 39,170 shares of company stock valued at $24,218,565. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s new AI Mode in Facebook Search and related AI tools could open a new monetization stream and improve engagement across its apps. Meta introduces AI search and creative tools, Bank of America flags emerging monetization opportunity
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating, saying Meta’s AI strategy remains a key growth catalyst. BofA Reiterates Buy Rating on Meta Platforms (META) Cites AI Strategy a Key Growth Catalyst
• Positive Sentiment: Threads reached 500 million monthly active users, highlighting continued platform growth and stronger user engagement. Meta's Threads reaches 500 million monthly users, rolls out new features
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta’s CTO said morale in the AI unit is near historic lows, which may reflect execution challenges even as the company doubles down on AI. Meta's CTO says morale is almost 'the worst it's ever been'
• Negative Sentiment: Apple’s upcoming AI-powered AirPods and smart glasses could intensify competition in the AI wearables market, potentially challenging Meta’s device strategy. Apple to launch AI-juiced AirPods and sunglasses, going head-to-head with Meta
• Negative Sentiment: Reports of consumer-protection lawsuits in Europe add another regulatory overhang for Meta. Consumer Protection: Three Chances for Damages from Meta Platforms

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on META. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $850.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Erste Group Bank lowered Meta Platforms from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $750.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $760.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $840.60.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.1%

META opened at $600.21 on Wednesday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $622.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $635.51. The company has a market capitalization of $1.52 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.82, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.23. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $796.25. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. The company 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%.Meta Platforms's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.43 EPS. Analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.63%.

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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