PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Purchases 9,102 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,377,342 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,102 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $788,018,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RHL Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Bayban lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Bayban now owns 70 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Key Capital Management INC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $48,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total transaction of $2,012,047.56. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 9,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,708,013.06. The trade was a 26.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Curtis J. Mahoney sold 2,079 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $681,890.56. This represents a 65.03% 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. Insiders sold a total of 37,948 shares of company stock worth $23,184,319 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $595.19 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.51 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.25. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $604.51 and its 200-day moving average is $625.76. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.43 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 7.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on META. Barclays lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $725.00 price target (down from $825.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wolfe Research lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Susquehanna raised shares of Meta Platforms from a “positive” rating to a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Guggenheim cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Five research 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $835.64.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: A new free verification badge system for Facebook users, which may improve trust and platform quality. Fast Company article
• Positive Sentiment: A dedicated Marketplace seller app with tools for merchants, aimed at making Facebook commerce more useful and organized. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street commentary remained constructive, with articles highlighting Meta as a strong momentum stock and a potentially attractive AI-era value name.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment stayed favorable, including a report that Wells Fargo raised its price target on Meta to $835.00.

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.