Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Increases Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 0.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,862,092 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,094 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises 2.5% of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.23% of Meta Platforms worth $4,305,003,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 192,591,101 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $142,149,566,000 after buying an additional 1,532,568 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 86,925,674 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $64,158,971,000 after buying an additional 1,650,435 shares in the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 608,429.2% during the 2nd quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 59,775,823 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $44,119,937,000 after acquiring an additional 59,766,000 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 51,575,209 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $37,902,948,000 after acquiring an additional 682,768 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth $23,155,393,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 580 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $646.00, for a total value of $374,680.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,167 shares in the company, valued at $3,983,882. The trade was a 8.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $653.00, for a total transaction of $337,601.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 11,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,291,398. The trade was a 4.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 39,535 shares of company stock valued at $24,382,453 over the last quarter. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

More Meta Platforms News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Threads mobile usage now reportedly exceeds X, signaling faster user engagement growth for Meta’s social stack — a potential long‑term ad/reach tailwind. Meta’s Threads surpasses X on mobile usage
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain bullish on Meta’s AI-driven ad improvements, data‑center/power deals and hardware (Ray‑Ban smart glasses) expansion — supports upside case and long‑term revenue/ROI expectations. Analysts bullish on Meta Platforms (META) amid AI expansion and long-term power deals
• Positive Sentiment: Consumer/investor commentary highlights Meta as a value/contrarian buy given its AI investments and scale — supports possible near‑term buying interest. The Most ‘Hated’ Name In the Market Right Now Is a Screaming Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: Market context: “Magnificent Seven” leadership is fragmenting as the AI trade rotates — a broader sector dynamic that can weigh on META even if company fundamentals remain strong. The Magnificent Seven Drove Markets. Now They’re Pulling in Different Directions.
• Negative Sentiment: The UK Gambling Commission accused Meta of tolerating illegal gambling ads on its platforms — raises regulatory/legal risk and potential fines or ad‑policy costs in a major market. Meta ‘turning a blind eye’ to illegal gambling ads, UK Gambling Commission says
• Negative Sentiment: Policy risk: analysts warn Meta (and peers) could be hurt if other countries follow Australia’s under‑16 social‑media ban — potential user/ad revenue hit in affected markets. Meta and Snap Face Social-Media Ban Threat. These Countries Could Follow Australia.
• Negative Sentiment: Some investors and fund managers flag that accelerated AI capex is a near‑term margin/headwind risk and has tempered enthusiasm in activist/hedge circles. Accelerated AI Spending Hit Meta Platforms (META)
• Negative Sentiment: High‑profile commentary (e.g., Jim Cramer) frames Meta as a “lone wolf,” feeding short‑term selling pressure amid sector rotation and expectations reset. Meta (META)’s Shares Are Down Because It’s A Lone Wolf, Says Jim Cramer

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Meta Platforms stock opened at $620.25 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $640.79 and a 200-day moving average of $699.31. The firm has a market cap of $1.56 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.29. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $479.80 and a 1-year high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.35% and a net margin of 30.89%.The company had revenue of $51.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.03 EPS. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the topic of a number of research reports. Mizuho lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $925.00 to $815.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. DA Davidson set a $825.00 price objective on Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Monness Crespi & Hardt decreased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $860.00 to $808.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $750.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $822.96.

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.