Meta Platforms, Inc. $META is Morningstar Investment Management LLC's 10th Largest Position

Key Points

• Morningstar Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 21.8%, making it the firm's 10th largest position with holdings worth approximately $38.3 million.
• Several institutional investors have significantly boosted their positions in Meta, including Kingstone Capital, which grew its stake by an astonishing 608,429.2% during the 2nd quarter.
• Meta Platforms reported a quarterly earnings beat with an EPS of $7.14, exceeding analyst expectations of $5.75, while revenue climbed 21.6% year-over-year, reaching $47.52 billion.

Morningstar Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 21.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 51,914 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 9,294 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 3.4% of Morningstar Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. Morningstar Investment Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $38,317,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in META. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 608,429.2% in the 2nd quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 59,775,823 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $44,119,937,000 after purchasing an additional 59,766,000 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.3% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,669,795 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $10,184,163,000 after purchasing an additional 400,927 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 15,575,962 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $8,977,361,000 after purchasing an additional 1,255,546 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 12,543,468 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $7,229,553,000 after buying an additional 536,160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,041,171 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,787,329,000 after buying an additional 247,850 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on META. Scotiabank raised 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $920.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Meta Platforms from $795.00 to $875.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $829.66.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $738.36 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $742.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $690.10. The company has a market capitalization of $1.85 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.73, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.20. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $479.80 and a 1-year high of $796.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 1.97.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $5.16 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 22nd were paid 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $775.95, for a total value of $46,557,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 237,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at $184,059,219.75. The trade was a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,332 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 84,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,343,464.11. The trade was a 17.89% 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 $164,951,541. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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