China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. Grows Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 12.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 54,759 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,905 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 2.8% of China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $36,146,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sentinel Pension Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.6% during the third quarter. Sentinel Pension Advisors LLC now owns 915 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $672,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. Alpine Bank Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.3% during the third quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management now owns 4,301 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,159,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 3.2% during the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 454 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. grew its position in Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the second quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $794,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forza Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 3.9% during the third quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 402 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on META shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $850.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $775.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $725.00 target price (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $840.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Four research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $840.31.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $604.96 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.53 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.99, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $628.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $646.71. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $520.26 and a one year high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced 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 during 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.43 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 16th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 16th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.63%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $667.00, for a total transaction of $386,860.00. Following the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 629 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $670.84, for a total transaction of $421,958.36. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 2,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,591,232.48. This represents a 20.96% 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 three months, insiders have sold 166,638 shares of company stock worth $106,697,681. Insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat and AI-driven ad pricing — Meta reported stronger-than-expected revenue and EPS, with AI-powered ad tools and pricing cited as driving high revenue growth and improved monetization, supporting upside case for ad margins and cash flow. Meta: Keep Calm And Focus On Muse, Spark And Record Revenue Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Expansion of teen-safety and age-verification tech — Meta announced it will roll out new AI safeguards for teens across 27 EU countries and to Facebook in the U.S., including visual AI checks to help flag under‑13 accounts; this may reduce regulatory pressure but could carry implementation costs and user-friction risk. Meta to expand teen safeguards to 27 EU countries, Facebook safeguards in June
• Neutral Sentiment: Product roadmap: advanced ‘agentic’ AI assistant — FT/Reuters report that Meta is building a highly personalized AI assistant that can act on users’ behalf. Positive for long-term engagement but highlights why investors are watching rising AI R&D and capex. Meta plans advanced ‘agentic’ AI assistant for users, FT reports
• Neutral Sentiment: Big capex and data‑center financing — Bloomberg/Reuters report Meta is lining up ~ $13B financing for an El Paso data center, underscoring heavy near‑term cash commitments that support growth but pressure free cash flow. Meta taps Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan for El Paso data center deal, Bloomberg News reports
• Negative Sentiment: New Mexico youth‑harm trial and potential remedies — State seeks sweeping changes and up to $3.7B plus injunction-style platform changes in ongoing trial alleging harm to children; a court order could force product changes and sizable remediation costs. New Mexico seeks changes to Meta platforms in youth harm trial
• Negative Sentiment: Major publishers sue over AI training — Large publishers (Elsevier, Macmillan, McGraw Hill, Hachette, etc.) filed copyright suits alleging Meta used books and journals to train Llama; litigation could lead to damages, injunctive relief or changes to data‑use practices. Major publishers sue Meta for copyright infringement over AI training
• Negative Sentiment: EU/Irish regulatory scrutiny — Ireland opened probes into Instagram/Facebook algorithmic personalization and Meta is contesting an EU order that could force rival AI chatbot access on WhatsApp; regulatory actions could impose operational constraints or fines. Ireland probles Meta’s Instagram, Facebook over EU manipulation concerns Meta seeks to fend off EU order to allow rival AI chatbots on WhatsApp at hearing
• Negative Sentiment: Reputational/legal fallout and shareholder scrutiny — Reuters won a Pulitzer on Meta investigations into harmful chatbots/fraudulent ads; law firms and shareholder groups are probing the board for oversight breaches, increasing litigation and governance risk. Reuters wins beat reporting Pulitzer for Meta investigations

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.