Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Purchased by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,334,386 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,218 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 2.1% of Legal & General Group Plc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.57% of Meta Platforms worth $9,461,985,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Westchester Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. RHL Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $840.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total transaction of $4,769,642.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $251,641.62. This trade represents a 94.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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. Also, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.92, for a total transaction of $1,268,023.68. Following the sale, the insider owned 1,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $681,890.56. This trade represents 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 42,860 shares of company stock valued at $26,555,260. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $622.98 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $618.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $636.74. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month high of $796.25. The company has a market capitalization of $1.58 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted 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. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The firm had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 7.63%.

Key Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta launched an enterprise-focused AI “business agent” designed to help companies handle customer inquiries, recommend products, book appointments, and automate daily operations across WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram. Investors see this as a new subscription-like revenue opportunity beyond ads. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage from multiple outlets suggested Meta’s AI agent strategy could expand into the business market and help diversify revenue, reinforcing the bull case that the company can monetize AI more effectively. CNBC article
• Positive Sentiment: Areté Research upgraded Meta Platforms (META) from hold to strong-buy and set a $735 target, adding to the favorable analyst tone around the stock. Finviz reference
• Positive Sentiment: Meta also won a partial legal victory in Europe after a court backed its challenge to the EU’s “gatekeeper” designation for Marketplace, which could reduce regulatory pressure on part of the business. Reuters article
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta’s metaverse unit saw another management change, with Metaverse Products Group lead Gabriel Aul quietly leaving and being replaced by Saxs Persson. This is more of an internal reshuffle than a clear stock catalyst. Business Insider article
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported that a high-profile hack exposed weaknesses in Meta’s AI support chatbot, highlighting security risks as the company automates sensitive account functions. Reuters article
• Negative Sentiment: State attorneys general also urged a court to revive antitrust claims against Meta, keeping regulatory and legal overhangs in the background. MediaPost article

Meta Platforms 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.