E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Buys 23,134 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• E Fund Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Meta Platforms by 59.8%, acquiring an additional 23,134 shares, bringing its total holdings to 61,847 shares valued at approximately $35.6 million.
• Several large investors, including Valley Financial Group and Lantern Wealth Advisors, have also raised their positions in Meta, highlighting strong interest among institutional investors with 79.91% of the stock held by them.
• Meta Platforms' recent quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, reporting $7.14 EPS on revenue of $47.52 billion, representing a 21.6% year-over-year increase.

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 59.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 61,847 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 23,134 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 1.7% of E Fund Management Co. Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. E Fund Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $35,646,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 42,317,434 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $24,777,282,000 after acquiring an additional 1,049,121 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 40,317,105 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $23,606,338,000 after acquiring an additional 1,141,355 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 67,172.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 23,452,665 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $13,517,178,000 after acquiring an additional 23,417,803 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,445,565 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $13,727,613,000 after acquiring an additional 2,787,832 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.3% in 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 last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META traded down $14.3710 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $752.9990. 8,734,252 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,296,731. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $725.90 and a 200-day moving average of $655.75. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $479.80 and a one year high of $796.25. The firm has a market cap of $1.89 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.27, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.27. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results 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 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 business posted $5.16 earnings per share. The company'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, sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $635.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $795.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Moffett Nathanson boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $700.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $822.41.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 515 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $776.38, for a total transaction of $399,835.70. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 25,035 shares in the company, valued at $19,436,673.30. This represents a 2.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $767.80, for a total value of $11,517,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 222,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $170,608,999. This represents a 6.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 267,732 shares of company stock valued at $199,652,003. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

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.