Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Holdings Increased by Payden & Rygel

Key Points

• Payden & Rygel increased its Meta stake by 32.6% in the third quarter, adding 7,620 shares to hold 31,030 shares valued at about $22.5 million.
• Meta beat quarterly expectations, reporting $7.40 in earnings per share and $64.6 billion in revenue; revenue rose 26.1% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a broadly positive view: Meta has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $833.12.

Payden & Rygel raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 32.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,030 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,620 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up about 1.8% of Payden & Rygel's holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Payden & Rygel's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $22,502,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advantage Trust Co bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Philadelphia Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Horizons Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Schuylkill Financial LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of META opened at $630.00 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The business's 50 day moving average price is $673.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $632.21. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $520.26 and a 52 week high of $779.82. The stock has a market cap of $1.61 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.28.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The social networking company reported $7.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.86. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 30.73% and a net margin of 31.15%. The company had revenue of $64.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $7.25 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 29.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 21st were paid a $0.5250 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 21st. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. President Capital upgraded Meta Platforms from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $660.00 to $897.00 in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $850.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on Meta Platforms from $840.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $800.00 price target (down from $850.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Roth Capital reduced their price target on Meta Platforms from $820.00 to $750.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $833.12.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 946 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $614.15, for a total transaction of $580,985.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 4,094 shares in the company, valued at $2,514,330.10. This trade represents a 18.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 151,090 shares of company stock valued at $103,150,807 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 13.53% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Meta Platforms

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

• Positive Sentiment: Meta acquired Conductor, a startup whose AI agents can work in parallel to build software projects. The deal adds AI coding capabilities, though financial terms were not disclosed. TechCrunch: Meta acquires AI coding startup Conductor
• Positive Sentiment: Investor demand for Meta’s bond offerings was strong: reports said orders for its U.S. sale reached about $58 billion. That suggests investors are willing to finance the company’s AI expansion. Reuters: Meta draws record orders for debut euro bond sale
• Positive Sentiment: Arista Networks said Meta remains one of its customers accounting for more than 10% of revenue, highlighting Meta’s role in demand for AI data-center infrastructure. Arista Networks Cashes In on the AI Infrastructure Build
• Neutral Sentiment: COO Javier Olivan reported stock sales under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The planned nature of the transactions makes them less informative as a signal about management’s near-term outlook. SEC insider ownership filing
• Negative Sentiment: Meta is raising billions through U.S. and euro bond sales to fund AI infrastructure and expansion. One report said the company agreed to pay 7.5% on 30-year debt, pointing to a substantial financing cost as investment spending grows. Meta Just Paid 7.5% to Borrow for 30 Years

Meta Platforms Company Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc is a technology company that develops social networking, messaging, virtual and augmented reality, and artificial intelligence products. The company's principal platforms include Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Threads, which enable users to connect, communicate, share content, and discover products and services.

Meta also operates Reality Labs, its division focused on virtual, augmented, and mixed reality technologies. Reality Labs develops products such as Meta Quest virtual reality headsets and related software and experiences, along with research and hardware intended to support immersive computing.

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