Meta Platforms, Inc. $META is UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC's 3rd Largest Position

Key Points

• UBS AM increased its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 4.5% during the first quarter, owning approximately 12.5 million shares valued at over $7 billion.
• Meta Platforms recently reported strong quarterly earnings, beating estimates with $7.14 earnings per share and revenue of $47.52 billion.
• Analysts remain positive on Meta, with several upgrading their ratings and target prices, suggesting an average price target of around $822.41.

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 4.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,543,468 shares of the social networking company's stock after acquiring an additional 536,160 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 1.9% of UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned about 0.50% of Meta Platforms worth $7,229,553,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Optimize Financial Inc raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Optimize Financial Inc now owns 2,133 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,229,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 575,881 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $331,915,000 after acquiring an additional 33,708 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 652,529 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $376,092,000 after acquiring an additional 7,986 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 94,888 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $54,690,000 after acquiring an additional 3,621 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AAF Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. AAF Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,835 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $1,634,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 1.5%

Meta Platforms stock traded down $11.0580 during trading on Thursday, hitting $736.6620. The company had a trading volume of 5,365,170 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,234,525. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $479.80 and a 1-year 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's 50 day simple moving average is $727.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $657.05. The stock has a market cap of $1.85 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.27.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 net margin of 39.99% and a return on equity of 39.33%. The firm had revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.16 EPS. The firm'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. As a group, analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

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 that occurred on 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 owned 237,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at $184,059,219.75. This trade represents a 20.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,332 shares of the firm'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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 84,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at $64,343,464.11. This represents a 17.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 313,803 shares of company stock valued at $235,276,424 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $920.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $700.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Loop Capital restated a "buy" rating and set a $980.00 price target (up previously from $888.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $822.41.

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.