Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Holdings Lifted by Vanderbilt University

Key Points

• Vanderbilt University increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.5%, owning 11,866 shares valued at $8,758,000, making it the university's 10th largest investment.
• Several large investors increased their holdings in Meta, with institutional ownership currently at 79.91%.
• Meta Platforms reported strong Q2 earnings, with $7.14 EPS, exceeding estimates and achieving a revenue of $47.52 billion, a 21.6% increase year-over-year.

Vanderbilt University increased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,866 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 515 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms comprises about 1.7% of Vanderbilt University's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Vanderbilt University's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $8,758,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Csenge Advisory Group increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 9,539 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,498,000 after purchasing an additional 1,019 shares in the last quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 785 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. JMG Financial Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at $284,000. Infusive Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 10.7% in the 1st quarter. Infusive Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,620 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $13,614,000 after purchasing an additional 2,285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spirepoint Private Client LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 4,080 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $3,011,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

META has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $845.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $897.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $830.68.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $705.30 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $752.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $678.77. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $479.80 and a 52-week high of $796.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.77 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.99% and a return on equity of 39.33%. The firm had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.16 earnings per share. Meta Platforms's revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.525 per share. 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 22nd. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is 7.60%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $704.81, for a total transaction of $364,386.77. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 9,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,702,038.29. The trade was a 5.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 465 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $757.47, for a total value of $352,223.55. Following the sale, the director directly owned 8,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,371,837.64. This trade represents a 5.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 214,182 shares of company stock valued at $164,946,219. Insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms 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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