Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Acquires 3,690 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 4.4% in Q2, acquiring an additional 3,690 shares, bringing its total ownership to 86,986 shares valued at approximately $64.2 million.
• Meta's latest quarterly earnings beat expectations, reporting $7.14 per share against an estimated $5.75, with revenue of $47.52 billion, reflecting a 21.6% increase year-over-year.
• Meta has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, to be paid on September 29, with an annualized yield of 0.3% and a payout ratio of 7.60%.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 86,986 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 3,690 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 1.1% of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $64,204,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 67,172.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 23,452,665 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $13,517,178,000 after purchasing an additional 23,417,803 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,669,795 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $10,184,163,000 after buying an additional 400,927 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.8% during the 1st 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 last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.5% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.5% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares of the firm'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 sale, the insider directly owned 237,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at $184,059,219.75. This trade represents a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,332 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 84,141 shares in the company, valued at $64,343,464.11. The trade was a 17.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 257,405 shares of company stock worth $196,059,438. Insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.7%

NASDAQ META traded down $13.22 on Monday, hitting $765.16. 11,659,363 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,694,495. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market cap of $1.92 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.70, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $747.06 and a 200-day moving average of $666.27. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $479.80 and a 12 month high of $796.25.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $1.39. The firm 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.16 earnings per share. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on META shares. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Pivotal Research lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $930.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Citizens Jmp increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Zacks Research lowered shares of Meta Platforms from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $826.05.

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.