Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Bought by Aberdeen Group plc

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 7.1%, now owning approximately 1.73 million shares valued at $1.28 billion, making it the 7th largest position in their portfolio.
• Meta Platforms reported a 21.6% year-over-year increase in revenue for the quarter, achieving $47.52 billion and beating analysts' expectations. Its earnings per share (EPS) of $7.14 also surpassed estimates of $5.75.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, amounting to an annualized yield of 0.3%, with a modest dividend payout ratio of 7.60%.

Aberdeen Group plc raised its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,731,475 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 115,378 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 2.2% of Aberdeen Group plc's portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.07% of Meta Platforms worth $1,278,071,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of META. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 608,429.2% during the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 59,775,823 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $44,119,937,000 after buying an additional 59,766,000 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth about $2,990,544,000. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 23.5% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 7,733,061 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $4,111,050,000 after buying an additional 1,470,070 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 1,255,546 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth about $571,086,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.7%

NASDAQ META opened at $716.91 on Monday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $479.80 and a 52-week high of $796.25. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $1.80 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $746.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $684.78.

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, 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 company had revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.55 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.16 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 22nd were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 22nd. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.60%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were 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 approximately $184,059,219.75. This trade represents a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,332 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $764.71, for a total transaction of $14,018,663.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 84,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $64,343,464.11. This trade represents a 17.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 213,665 shares of company stock valued at $164,568,109. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Benchmark increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $890.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $920.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $830.68.

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.

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