Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd Raises Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd raised its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 6.7% during the second quarter, now holding 9,143 shares valued at approximately $6.75 million, making it the fund's 11th largest position.
• Hedge funds and institutional investors currently hold 79.91% of Meta's stock, with several firms significantly increasing their positions in the first and second quarters.
• Meta Platforms has seen analysts setting new price targets, with a consensus target of $830.68 and most analysts rating the stock as a Moderate Buy.

Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 6.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,143 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 571 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 3.2% of Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $6,748,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 237.5% in the second quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 102.6% in the first quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on META. Mizuho set a $925.00 price target on Meta Platforms and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $920.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Citizens Jmp increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $830.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $716.98, for a total value of $372,112.62. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 29,313 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,016,834.74. This trade represents a 1.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $704.81, for a total value of $364,386.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,702,038.29. The trade was a 5.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 214,182 shares of company stock valued at $164,946,219. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 3.8%

Meta Platforms stock opened at $705.30 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.77 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.20. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $479.80 and a 52 week high of $796.25. The business's 50-day moving average price is $752.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $679.24. 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 (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $1.39. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 39.99%.The firm had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.55 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.16 earnings per share. Meta Platforms's revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 22nd were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 22nd. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.60%.

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.

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