Sovran Advisors LLC Raises Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Sovran Advisors LLC increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 28.9% during the second quarter, owning 15,830 shares valued at approximately $11.4 million.
• Several hedge funds, including GAMMA Investing LLC and Goldman Sachs, also significantly boosted their stakes in Meta, reflecting a strong interest in the company's stock.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Meta, with Barclays setting a new target of $810 and UBS Group at $897, highlighting positive sentiment around the stock's potential.

Sovran Advisors LLC grew its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 28.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 15,830 shares of the social networking company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,550 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises about 1.2% of Sovran Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Sovran Advisors LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $11,408,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 67,172.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 23,452,665 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $13,517,178,000 after purchasing an additional 23,417,803 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in 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 during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised 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 acquiring an additional 1,255,546 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 536,160 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 247,850 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Meta Platforms stock traded down $1.87 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $778.38. The company had a trading volume of 22,494,703 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,174,566. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $479.80 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25. 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 $1.96 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $747.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $666.00.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last released 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. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 39.99%.The company had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.16 EPS. Meta Platforms's revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Monday, September 22nd will be paid 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 of this dividend is Monday, September 22nd. Meta Platforms's payout ratio is currently 7.60%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 237,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $184,059,219.75. The trade was a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,332 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 257,922 shares of company stock worth $196,412,792 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on META shares. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Citizens Jmp boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $810.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $825.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $826.05.

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.