Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Has $30.01 Million Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Gamco Investors INC. ET AL reduced its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 3.9%, now holding shares worth $30.01 million at the end of the first quarter.
• Meta Platforms has received multiple analyst ratings, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $822.41, while three analysts rated it as a Strong Buy.
• The company reported a robust Q2 earnings result, earning $7.14 EPS, exceeding estimates by $1.39, and generating revenue of $47.52 billion.

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL trimmed its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 3.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 52,073 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 2,094 shares during the quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $30,013,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $20,230,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,537,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 221,459 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $129,666,000 after purchasing an additional 7,587 shares during the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 6,189 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $3,624,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benchstone Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the fourth quarter valued at about $23,749,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Moffett Nathanson raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Three 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, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $822.41.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of META opened at $753.30 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.89 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 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 12 month low of $479.80 and a 12 month high of $796.25. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $731.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $657.25.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,332 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $764.71, for a total transaction of $14,018,663.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 84,141 shares in the company, valued at $64,343,464.11. This trade represents a 17.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $775.95, for a total transaction of $46,557,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 237,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $184,059,219.75. The trade was a 20.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 312,767 shares of company stock worth $234,618,139 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

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.

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