US Bancorp DE Has $523.99 Million Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)

Key Points

• US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 3.1%, bringing its holdings to approximately $523 million in value, after purchasing 27,014 additional shares in the first quarter.
• Meta Platforms reported Earnings Per Share (EPS) of $7.14, surpassing analyst expectations of $5.75, with quarterly revenue up 21.6% year-over-year at $47.52 billion.
• Recent analyst upgrades have raised Meta's price targets significantly, with firms like Sanford C. Bernstein and Piper Sandler projecting new targets between $880 and $900 per share.

US Bancorp DE raised its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 3.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 909,132 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 27,014 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $523,988,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 67,172.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 23,452,665 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $13,517,178,000 after buying an additional 23,417,803 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,243,603,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Meta Platforms by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,445,565 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $13,727,613,000 after acquiring an additional 2,787,832 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Meta Platforms by 712.2% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,537,631 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,462,589,000 after acquiring an additional 2,225,186 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $1,162,918,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $753.43, for a total transaction of $11,939,605.21. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 22,449 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $636.85, for a total value of $14,296,645.65. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 1,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $753,393.55. The trade was a 94.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 167,815 shares of company stock worth $117,135,845. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on META. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $740.00 to $840.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Pivotal Research increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $930.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Roth Capital boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Moffett Nathanson raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-nine have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $822.41.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 1.1%

NASDAQ META traded up $8.53 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $771.99. 9,653,883 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,549,258. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $479.80 and a fifty-two week high of $784.75. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $707.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $648.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.94 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.27.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $1.39. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.99% and a return on equity of 39.33%. The business had revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.55 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.16 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 7.60%.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc engages in the development of products that enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality headsets, and wearables worldwide. It operates in two segments, Family of Apps and Reality Labs. The Family of Apps segment offers Facebook, which enables people to share, discuss, discover, and connect with interests; Instagram, a community for sharing photos, videos, and private messages, as well as feed, stories, reels, video, live, and shops; Messenger, a messaging application for people to connect with friends, family, communities, and businesses across platforms and devices through text, audio, and video calls; and WhatsApp, a messaging application that is used by people and businesses to communicate and transact privately.