Meta Platforms, Inc. $META is Jennison Associates LLC’s 8th Largest Position

Jennison Associates LLC reduced its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 5.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,865,939 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 484,599 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises approximately 3.1% of Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $4,500,339,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Keybank National Association OH raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 133,798 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $88,319,000 after acquiring an additional 18,169 shares during the period. WMS Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter worth about $876,000. Diversified Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 84,059 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $55,487,000 after purchasing an additional 3,336 shares in the last quarter. Consolidated Investment Group LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 61.2% during the 4th quarter. Consolidated Investment Group LLC now owns 7,900 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,215,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 7,269,279 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on META. Benchmark began coverage on Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Citizens Jmp dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $800.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $885.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $767.00 to $835.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $835.64.

Key Headlines Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: A Florida teen dropped a social-media addiction lawsuit against Meta before trial, reducing near-term legal pressure and removing a potential headline risk for the company. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo reportedly raised its price target on Meta, reinforcing Wall Street’s bullish long-term view despite near-term volatility. Article
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies said Meta’s AI glasses could become a meaningful long-term hardware growth opportunity, highlighting the company’s first-mover advantage in AI wearables. Article
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and commentators continue to point to strong demand for Meta’s data-center and AI infrastructure buildout, with some seeing that spending as evidence of aggressive positioning in the AI race. Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta launched a new AI-optimism ad campaign and Zuckerberg has been publicly pushing back against “AI doomerism,” but the messaging also highlights ongoing backlash over AI risks and product criticism. Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta’s stock is in focus ahead of earnings, with some technical traders noting it is trading below several key moving averages and could remain volatile if results or guidance disappoint. Article
• Negative Sentiment: Meta dropped out of a major clean-energy pact while its natural-gas power buildout accelerates, which could fuel criticism from ESG-focused investors and increase scrutiny of its AI infrastructure strategy. Article
• Negative Sentiment: Several reports suggest investors are worried about Meta’s heavy AI capex, with comparisons to other megacap tech names showing the market is increasingly focused on whether spending will pay off. Article

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total value of $4,769,642.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $251,641.62. This trade represents a 94.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,195 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.84, for a total value of $5,589,088.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,186 shares in the company, valued at $8,014,978.24. The trade was a 41.08% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 37,948 shares of company stock worth $23,184,319 in the last 90 days. 13.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 3.4%

META stock opened at $606.10 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $604.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $625.98. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $520.26 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25. The firm has a market cap of $1.53 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.35.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.67 by $3.77. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 32.84% and a return on equity of 36.93%. The company had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.43 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 30.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.63%.

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.