Meta Platforms, Inc. $META is Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc's 5th Largest Position

Key Points

• Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc increased its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 13.0% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 4,248 shares to bring their total ownership to 37,047 shares.
• Meta Platforms reported impressive quarterly earnings with $7.14 EPS, exceeding analyst expectations, and a revenue of $47.52 billion, which was a 21.6% increase compared to the previous year.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525, illustrating a 0.3% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 7.60%.

Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc boosted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 13.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 37,047 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,248 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 5.3% of Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Foyston Gordon & Payne Inc's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $21,352,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Csenge Advisory Group raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 12.0% in the first quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 9,539 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $5,498,000 after buying an additional 1,019 shares during the period. Suvretta Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Suvretta Capital Management LLC now owns 170,338 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $99,735,000 after buying an additional 1,850 shares during the period. Skye Global Management LP raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 130.9% in the fourth quarter. Skye Global Management LP now owns 76,200 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $44,616,000 after buying an additional 43,200 shares during the period. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.5% in the first quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 785 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $452,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, JMG Financial Group Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter worth about $284,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $753.43, for a total value of $11,939,605.21. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,332 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $764.71, for a total value of $14,018,663.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 84,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $64,343,464.11. This trade represents a 17.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 313,803 shares of company stock worth $235,276,424. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ:META traded down $15.89 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $751.48. The stock had a trading volume of 12,216,778 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,316,512. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 1.97. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $479.80 and a 52 week high of $796.25. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $726.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $656.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.89 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.21, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.27.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.75 by $1.39. The business had revenue of $47.52 billion for 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 revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.16 EPS. 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 fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Meta Platforms from $795.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $800.00 target price (up previously from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $846.00 to $918.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $810.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $822.41.

Meta Platforms Company Profile

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.