Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stock Position Cut by Nexus Investment Management ULC

Key Points

• Nexus Investment Management ULC reduced its stake in Meta Platforms by 1.0%, maintaining 79,644 shares which account for 8.8% of its holdings, valued at approximately $58.78 million.
• The stock has experienced notable activity, with 79.91% of its shares currently owned by institutional investors, while recent earnings exceeded expectations, reporting $7.14 EPS against a forecast of $5.75.
• Meta Platforms has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, representing a 0.3% yield and a payout ratio of 7.60%.

Nexus Investment Management ULC trimmed its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 79,644 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 770 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for 8.8% of Nexus Investment Management ULC's holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Nexus Investment Management ULC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $58,784,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 237.5% in the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. JCIC Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 102.6% in the 1st quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Maseco LLP acquired a new position in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter valued at $54,000. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.6%

NASDAQ:META opened at $738.36 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.85 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.20. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $479.80 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25. The stock's 50-day moving average is $742.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $691.34.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.55 billion. During the same period in the previous 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. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Monday, September 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 22nd. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 11,694 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $775.00, for a total transaction of $9,062,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 1,799 shares in the company, valued at $1,394,225. The trade was a 86.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares of the company'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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 214,182 shares of company stock valued at $164,951,541 in the last three months. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on META shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $795.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Pivotal Research increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $930.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. 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 report on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Meta Platforms from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $829.66.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.