Meta Platforms, Inc. $META is BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp's 6th Largest Position

Key Points

• BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp's stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. was decreased by 0.8%, making it the investment firm's 6th largest position at approximately $349.8 million.
• Brokerage firms have recently upgraded Meta Platforms' stock ratings and target prices, with Loop Capital setting a target of $980.00, reflecting a growing confidence in the company's future performance.
• Meta Platforms reported a 21.6% year-over-year revenue increase for the most recent quarter, with earnings per share of $7.14, significantly surpassing analyst estimates.

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lowered its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 0.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 606,935 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 5,108 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 2.2% of BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $349,813,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 487,527 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $280,991,000 after purchasing an additional 18,620 shares during the period. Haverford Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 6,443 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $3,713,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the period. Heritage Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,331,000. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,006 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $2,885,000 after buying an additional 294 shares during the period. Finally, ADAPT Investment Managers SA purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth approximately $14,271,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on META. Loop Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $980.00 target price (up from $888.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $846.00 to $918.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Citizens Jmp upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $812.00 to $897.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $822.41.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,332 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 84,141 shares in the company, valued at $64,343,464.11. This represents a 17.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were 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 $184,059,219.75. This represents a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 313,803 shares of company stock worth $235,276,424 over the last three months. Insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $754.79 on Friday. 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 of $730.31 and a 200 day moving average of $657.36. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.90 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.27.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $1.39. The company had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.55 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.99% and a return on equity of 39.33%. The firm's revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.16 earnings per share. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast 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 was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.60%.

About Meta Platforms

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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