Meta Platforms, Inc. $META is Aberdeen Group plc's 8th Largest Position

Aberdeen Group plc raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 21.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,616,097 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 290,426 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.8% of Aberdeen Group plc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.06% of Meta Platforms worth $919,923,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares 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 purchasing 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 purchasing an additional 875 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its position in Meta Platforms by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 221,459 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $129,666,000 after purchasing an additional 7,587 shares during the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE raised its position in Meta Platforms by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 6,189 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $3,624,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benchstone Capital Management LP bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $23,749,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.9%

META stock traded down $6.6610 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $744.8190. 8,958,926 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,279,813. The stock has a market cap of $1.87 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $479.80 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $726.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $656.42.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.75 by $1.39. The business had revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.55 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 39.99%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.16 EPS. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is presently 7.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Securities lowered their price objective on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $700.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Roth Capital lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Hsbc Global Res raised Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $822.41.

Insider Activity

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,332 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $764.71, for a total transaction of $14,018,663.72. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 84,141 shares in the company, valued at $64,343,464.11. This represents a 17.89% 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, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $775.00, for a total transaction of $402,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 32,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,533,150. The trade was a 1.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 313,803 shares of company stock valued at $235,276,424. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc engages in the development of products that enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality headsets, and wearables worldwide. It operates in two segments, Family of Apps and Reality Labs. The Family of Apps segment offers Facebook, which enables people to share, discuss, discover, and connect with interests; Instagram, a community for sharing photos, videos, and private messages, as well as feed, stories, reels, video, live, and shops; Messenger, a messaging application for people to connect with friends, family, communities, and businesses across platforms and devices through text, audio, and video calls; and WhatsApp, a messaging application that is used by people and businesses to communicate and transact privately.