Truist Financial Corp Boosts Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Truist Financial Corp lifted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 998,921 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,029 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 0.9% of Truist Financial Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $659,377,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of META. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $20,230,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,537,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares during the period. Headwater Capital Co Ltd increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 294.7% in the 1st quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd now owns 150,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $86,454,000 after purchasing an additional 112,000 shares during the period. Dymon Asia Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Finally, Capital & Planning LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at approximately $322,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $618.43 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $623.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $640.90. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $520.26 and a 12 month high of $796.25. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.56 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $56.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.43 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta’s recent earnings beat and revenue growth remain a key bullish driver, reinforcing the view that ad demand and AI-driven monetization are still accelerating. Analysts highlighted stronger advertiser tools and engagement as signs the business can keep compounding. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Meta is rolling out new privacy features for WhatsApp and AI chats, including an “incognito” mode, which could help address user trust concerns while supporting adoption of its AI products. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that WhatsApp monetization could expand through a premium subscription add another potential high-margin revenue stream, giving investors more confidence in Meta’s long-term earnings power. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary around Meta’s AI infrastructure spending and talent push suggests management is still investing aggressively in future growth, which some investors view as necessary to defend its competitive position. Article Title

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $840.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $810.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $930.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $850.00 to $750.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $840.31.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $667.00, for a total transaction of $386,860.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,565,949. This represents a 13.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing 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, COO Javier Olivan sold 926 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $604.57, for a total value of $559,831.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 6,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,143,118.21. This represents a 11.90% 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 169,231 shares of company stock worth $108,239,954. Insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Company 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.