Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. Acquires 4,973 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group increased its Meta Platforms stake by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, buying 4,973 more shares and lifting its total to 75,356 shares worth about $49.7 million.
• Meta remains widely favored by Wall Street, with analysts assigning an overall “Moderate Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $840.60 despite some recent target cuts.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, including EPS of $10.44 on revenue of $56.31 billion, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 75,356 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,973 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 0.9% of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $49,741,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. First Financial Bankshares Inc grew its position in Meta Platforms by 66.6% during the fourth quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc now owns 141,954 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $93,702,000 after acquiring an additional 56,723 shares during the last quarter. Xponance LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 528,966 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $349,165,000 after acquiring an additional 30,793 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Resource Group grew its position in Meta Platforms by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 3,649 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $2,409,000 after acquiring an additional 442 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its position in Meta Platforms by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 589,319 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $389,004,000 after acquiring an additional 51,943 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its position in Meta Platforms by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 421,916 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $278,503,000 after acquiring an additional 2,969 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Arete Research set a $735.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $775.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an "overweight" rating on the stock. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Roth Mkm restated a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms 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 given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $840.60.

Meta Platforms News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta announced a partnership with Reliance Industries to build its first AI-enabled data center in India, a 168-megawatt facility that could support its global AI infrastructure push and long-term capacity needs. Mark Zuckerberg Teams Up With India's Richest Man To Build Meta's Next AI Powerhouse
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to point to upside from Meta’s AI and subscription initiatives, including commentary that the company may be building a sizable new recurring revenue stream to help offset infrastructure costs. Meta is building a new $20B business, Truist says
• Positive Sentiment: Several reports and analyst notes highlighted Meta as an attractive long-term AI and compounder stock, reinforcing bullish sentiment despite recent volatility. 5 Best Compounder Stocks to Buy Now
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is drawing attention for hiring, workforce reallocation, and training efforts tied to the AI data-center boom, which may help execution but does not change near-term earnings directly. The workers Meta and Google desperately need aren't in Silicon Valley
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street remains split on Meta’s AI capital spending cycle, with some analysts lifting estimates while others warn investors are waiting for proof that higher capex will generate returns. Meta navigates AI investment cycle as Street weighs costs against returns
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta also received a modest earnings estimate bump from Erste Group, suggesting analysts see continued earnings strength, though the rating remained Hold. Meta Platforms stock research summary
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concern is growing that Meta’s aggressive AI spending could pressure margins and free cash flow before monetization fully catches up, which is weighing on sentiment. Are investors growing concerned about Meta's AI spend?
• Negative Sentiment: Meta lost a bid for a new trial in its youth social-media addiction case, keeping legal overhangs alive for the stock. Google and Meta denied new trial in youth social media addiction case
• Negative Sentiment: A report also said hackers breached thousands of Instagram accounts through an AI-related bug, adding another security and product-trust issue for Meta. Hackers Breach 20K Instagram Accounts Due to AI Bug

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 value of $1,268,023.68. Following the sale, 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. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 504 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $629.29, for a total transaction of $317,162.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,943 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,481,290.47. This trade represents a 11.33% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 41,305 shares of company stock valued at $25,567,928 over the last quarter. 13.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $568.43 on Friday. 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 market capitalization of $1.44 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.23. The company's 50 day moving average price is $621.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $636.37.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The firm'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 business posted $6.43 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is 7.63%.

Meta Platforms Company 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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