Hsbc Holdings PLC Grows Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 27.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,379,582 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,568,670 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 2.8% of Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $4,878,079,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in META. Westchester Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the third quarter worth $26,000. RHL Group LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Niles Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total value of $1,748,612.10. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 10,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,645,103.65. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total transaction of $5,589,088.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,014,978.24. This represents a 41.08% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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. Insiders sold 39,013 shares of company stock valued at $24,115,999 over the last three months. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street commentary remains constructive on Meta’s long-term AI strategy, with Evercore ISI’s Mark Mahaney naming META one of the best “Magnificent 7” stock buys, reinforcing the view that the stock may still offer upside after its recent pullback. Article: Famous Wall Street Tech Analyst Names Meta and Amazon the Best Magnificent 7 Stock Buys Today
• Positive Sentiment: Meta continues to expand its AI infrastructure, including new computing deals with Crusoe and a strategic data-center partnership in India, which supports the company’s long-term AI capacity and monetization plans. Article: Meta signs new AI computing deals with data center firm Crusoe
• Positive Sentiment: Meta also drew favorable attention for rolling out new AI features for Facebook creators and broader AI tools that could deepen engagement and create new ad products over time. Article: Meta Platforms Rolls Out New AI Features On Facebook For Content Creators
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta continues to get attention for its cloud-computing ambitions, but that move is still viewed as a longer-term optionality story rather than an immediate earnings driver. Article: Meta and Cloud Computing: Real Potential, or a Shot in the Dark?
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta’s strong last reported quarter and upcoming dividend remain supportive, but these are already well known and are not the main catalysts behind today’s trading. Article: META stock and company profile
• Negative Sentiment: Sentiment was hurt by reports that a senior AI executive is leaving Meta during a major AI transition, raising execution concerns at a time when the company is trying to accelerate its artificial intelligence roadmap. Article: Meta head of product for ‘AI for work’ transformation is leaving company
• Negative Sentiment: Meta was also hit by reports that attackers exploited its AI-powered support chatbot to take over high-profile Instagram accounts, adding security and trust concerns around its AI tools and platform controls. Article: Meta faces AI support breach as key internal AI executive exits
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is also facing regulatory and legal pressure, including a Washington high court decision upholding a $35 million campaign finance penalty, which adds to headline risk. Article: Washington high court upholds $35 million campaign finance penalty against Meta

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $577.22 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $796.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $621.27 and a 200-day moving average of $634.10. The company has a market capitalization of $1.46 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.The business had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.35 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is currently 7.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on META. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $805.00 to $780.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $750.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $770.00 to $765.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Susquehanna upgraded Meta Platforms from a “positive” rating to a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $810.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Three investment 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $840.60.

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.