US Bancorp DE Boosts Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• US Bancorp DE increased its Meta stake by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, buying 60,241 more shares and bringing its total to 1,012,763 shares worth about $668.5 million.
• Meta’s latest earnings beat expectations, with Q1 EPS of $10.44 versus the $6.67 consensus and revenue of $56.31 billion, up 33.1% year over year.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive on META, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $840.31, even as some analysts trimmed targets and insiders recently sold shares.

US Bancorp DE raised its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,012,763 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 60,241 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 0.8% of US Bancorp DE's portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. US Bancorp DE's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $668,517,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $132,015,115,000 after acquiring an additional 7,269,279 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.9% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $64,158,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,650,435 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.7% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 39,247,690 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $28,823,375,000 after purchasing an additional 278,180 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,153,754 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $12,597,374,000 after purchasing an additional 142,229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.1% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,332,168 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $10,525,258,000 after acquiring an additional 558,792 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $609.63 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.54 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.16, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.25. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $627.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $645.30. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $520.26 and a 52-week high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.43 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Monday, March 16th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on META. Wall Street Zen raised Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Mizuho reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $835.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Argus reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $800.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Scotiabank raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $935.00 to $945.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $840.31.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $667.00, for a total value of $386,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,847 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,565,949. This represents a 13.10% decrease in their position. 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, COO Javier Olivan sold 926 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.74, for a total value of $562,767.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 7,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,727,609.46. This trade represents a 10.64% 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 90 days, insiders have sold 167,676 shares of company stock valued at $107,299,848. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts remain bullish on Meta Platforms, with recent notes from firms like BofA and Erste Group lifting earnings estimates or price targets after strong Q1 results, reinforcing expectations for meaningful upside. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s AI push is drawing attention as the company reportedly works on AI agents and improved models like Muse Spark, which could support new products and future monetization opportunities. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary pieces continue to frame Meta as an important AI and large-cap tech name, but these are mostly opinion-driven and do not add new fundamental information for the stock. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta was also mentioned in a deal roundup about acquiring Assured Robot Intelligence, but the report provided little detail, so the market impact is unclear. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Reports highlighting employee dissatisfaction and impending layoffs suggest Meta’s AI transformation is creating internal friction, while also reminding investors that the company’s AI ambitions come with higher costs. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concern remains centered on Meta’s enormous 2026 capex plan, estimated at $125 billion to $145 billion, which is fueling fears that profitability could come under pressure before AI investments pay off. Article Title

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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