Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stock Holdings Boosted by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,808,675 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 115,471 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 1.3% of Principal Financial Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,514,080,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of META. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $20,230,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,537,000 after buying an additional 875 shares during the last quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd raised its position in Meta Platforms by 294.7% during the 1st quarter. Headwater Capital Co Ltd now owns 150,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $86,454,000 after buying an additional 112,000 shares during the last quarter. Dymon Asia Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth $213,000. Finally, Capital & Planning LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth $322,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines 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

A number of brokerages recently commented on META. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $800.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $935.00 to $945.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $850.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $900.00 price target on Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Meta Platforms from $908.00 to $865.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $840.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,778 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, April 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $629.45, for a total transaction of $1,748,612.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 10,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,645,103.65. The trade was a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 56,571 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $644.70, for a total value of $36,471,323.70. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 169,231 shares of company stock valued at $108,239,954. 13.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $618.43 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap 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. The company has a 50-day moving average of $623.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $640.90.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.56 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.43 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.