Guinness Asset Management LTD Buys 3,787 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Guinness Asset Management LTD increased its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 5.3%, acquiring an additional 3,787 shares, bringing its total ownership to 75,532 shares valued at approximately $43.5 million.
• CEO Mark Zuckerberg and insider Christopher K. Cox sold substantial quantities of Meta stock, with Zuckerberg selling 15,847 shares and Cox selling 60,000 shares, reflecting a decrease in their ownership.
• Meta Platforms recently reported an EPS of $7.14 for the quarter, exceeding expectations and demonstrating a 21.6% growth in revenue compared to the previous year.

Guinness Asset Management LTD grew its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 5.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 75,532 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,787 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 0.8% of Guinness Asset Management LTD's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Guinness Asset Management LTD's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $43,533,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of META. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. JCIC Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Meta Platforms by 102.6% during the 1st quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth $47,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $812.00 to $897.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Benchmark lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $890.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $905.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Zacks Research lowered Meta Platforms from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $800.00 price objective (up from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $822.41.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.6%

Meta Platforms stock traded up $4.69 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $755.59. The stock had a trading volume of 8,240,448 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,776,048. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $479.80 and a 12 month high of $796.25. The company has a market capitalization of $1.90 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.36, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $741.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $661.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 22nd. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is 7.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 237,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $184,059,219.75. The trade was a 20.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $764.71, for a total value of $14,018,663.72. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 84,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 quarter, insiders sold 283,280 shares of company stock worth $214,119,908. 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.