Meiji Yasuda America Inc Increases Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Meiji Yasuda America Inc raised its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 27.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,695 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,809 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 2.5% of Meiji Yasuda America Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Meiji Yasuda America Inc’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $15,037,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of META. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 199,995,630 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $132,015,115,000 after purchasing an additional 7,269,279 shares during the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 76,587.7% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 105,292,277 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $69,502,379,000 after buying an additional 105,154,977 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position 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. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 52,806,712 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $34,734,628,000 after buying an additional 878,396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 39,558,637 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $26,112,735,000 after buying an additional 310,947 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on META. Arete Research set a $735.00 target price on Meta Platforms and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $780.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $785.32.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 9,196 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.61, for a total transaction of $5,063,409.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,260,343.46. The trade was a 41.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total transaction of $2,012,047.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 9,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,708,013.06. This trade represents a 26.06% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 34,957 shares of company stock valued at $20,442,696. Insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META opened at $570.05 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $592.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $613.14. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap 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. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $520.26 and a 12-month high of $790.80.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.22 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $7.14 EPS. Research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a 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%.

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.