Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Has $247.59 Million Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Epoch Investment Partners cut its Meta position by 18.9% in the first quarter, selling 100,879 shares and retaining 432,760 shares worth approximately $247.6 million. Meta remains Epoch’s sixth-largest holding and represents about 1.5% of its portfolio.
• Meta reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $10.44 versus the $6.67 consensus and revenue of $56.31 billion, up 33.1% year over year. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $835.64 versus a recent share price near $593. However, investors are weighing the potential margin and cash-flow impact of sharply higher AI spending, along with ongoing litigation risks.

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. cut its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 18.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 432,760 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 100,879 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up about 1.5% of Epoch Investment Partners Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $247,595,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in META. RHL Group LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Bayban increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Bayban now owns 70 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Key Capital Management INC bought a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 4th quarter worth $48,000. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $593.41 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.50 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.57, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.25. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $520.26 and a 1-year high of $796.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The business's fifty day moving average price is $603.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $624.67.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The social networking company reported $10.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $3.77. The company had revenue of $56.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.56 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 36.93% and a net margin of 32.84%.Meta Platforms's revenue was up 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.43 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.63%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total transaction of $4,769,642.01. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 414 shares in the company, valued at $251,641.62. The trade was a 94.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total transaction of $2,012,047.56. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 9,498 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,708,013.06. The trade was a 26.06% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 37,859 shares of company stock valued at $23,087,979. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on META shares. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "buy" rating and issued a $1,015.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Susquehanna upgraded Meta Platforms from a "positive" rating to a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Erste Group Bank raised Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Citizens Jmp lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $800.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $835.64.

Key Stories Impacting Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect Meta’s advertising business to benefit from higher impressions, stronger user engagement and AI-powered ad targeting. Consensus expectations call for approximately $60.2 billion in revenue and $7.18 in earnings per share, while traders anticipate a sizable post-earnings move. Will Higher Ad Revenues Aid Meta Platforms Stock in Q2 Earnings?
• Positive Sentiment: Guggenheim reaffirmed its buy rating and assigned an $800 price target, implying substantial upside from recent levels. Meta’s comparatively modest valuation and history of earnings beats could support the shares if results and guidance exceed expectations. Guggenheim rating report
• Positive Sentiment: Meta and BlackRock formed an approximately $14 billion venture to develop a one-gigawatt AI data-center campus in El Paso, Texas. The 80/20 structure brings outside capital into Meta’s infrastructure expansion and may reduce near-term balance-sheet pressure while securing future computing capacity. Meta, BlackRock partner on $14 billion El Paso data center
• Neutral Sentiment: Meta is expected to emphasize Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses and its broader AI strategy on the earnings call. It also joined Nvidia, Alphabet and OpenAI in supporting open-weight AI models, potentially influencing future product development and regulation. Meta likely to highlight smart glasses
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are increasingly concerned that AI capital expenditures—potentially reaching $125 billion to $145 billion—will compress margins and weaken free cash flow before Meta develops a direct AI revenue stream. Alphabet’s higher spending forecast has intensified skepticism toward hyperscaler stocks. Hyperscalers face higher capex scrutiny
• Negative Sentiment: Meta faces ongoing lawsuits alleging harm to teenagers and inadequate safeguards against abuse on its platforms, creating potential financial liabilities and reputational damage. COO Javier Olivan also sold shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, although insider selling is not necessarily a bearish signal. Meta disregarded its own research on teen harm

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding META? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.