Meiji Yasuda America Inc Boosts Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Meiji Yasuda America Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 27.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,695 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 5,809 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 2.5% of Meiji Yasuda America Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Meiji Yasuda America Inc’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $15,037,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 105,292,277 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $69,502,379,000 after purchasing an additional 105,154,977 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $22,152,075,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $132,015,115,000 after buying an additional 7,269,279 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 488.1% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,466,595 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,608,445,000 after buying an additional 4,537,076 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 90,841,345 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $59,963,463,000 after buying an additional 4,395,763 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $570.05 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $520.26 and a 52-week high of $790.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.45 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a fifty day moving average of $592.21 and a 200-day moving average of $613.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a current ratio of 2.23.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($1.01). The business had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 33.18% and a net margin of 29.83%.Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $7.14 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.5 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total value of $2,012,047.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 9,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,708,013.06. The trade was a 26.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,848 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.00, for a total value of $4,379,184.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $462,024. This represents a 90.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 34,957 shares of company stock worth $20,442,696 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on META. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Meta Platforms from $766.00 to $715.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $1,015.00 to $883.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Citizens Jmp cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $770.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $785.32.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta is reportedly preparing to launch Hatch, a consumer AI agent that could let users browse Reddit, order from DoorDash, shop on Etsy, access Yelp and manage Outlook within Meta’s ecosystem. The product could increase engagement with Meta’s platforms and strengthen its position in consumer AI. Reddit Stock Is Up, What You Need to Know
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to point to accelerating advertising growth, AI-powered ad tools, rising user engagement and increased advertiser adoption as factors helping Meta outperform social-media rivals Reddit and Snap. META Rides on Ad Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Former OpenAI researcher Luke Metz has joined Meta’s Superintelligence Labs and will report to AI chief Alexandr Wang. The hire supports Meta’s effort to build advanced AI capabilities, although the financial benefits are longer term. Luke Metz Joins Meta’s Superintelligence Labs
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports highlighted substantial Meta insider-trading activity during August, including notable transactions on August 18. The article did not establish whether the activity represented buying or selling, limiting its immediate stock-price significance. Monster Insider Trading Alert for Meta Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Instagram chief Adam Mosseri is testifying in a lawsuit brought by 29 states alleging that Meta designed Instagram and Facebook to be addictive to children while downplaying safety risks. An adverse outcome could create regulatory, redesign and financial costs. Instagram Head Adam Mosseri to Testify at Meta Trial

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.