Varenne Capital Partners Has $47.23 Million Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Varenne Capital Partners increased its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 8.9%, acquiring a total of 81,939 shares valued at approximately $47.23 million, making it the firm's largest position.
• Meta reported strong quarterly earnings with an EPS of $7.14, exceeding expectations, and a revenue of $47.52 billion, marking a 21.6% year-over-year increase.
• Institutional investors own 79.91% of Meta Platforms, with many firms raising their positions, indicating strong confidence in the company's future performance.

Varenne Capital Partners lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 8.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 81,939 shares of the social networking company's stock after buying an additional 6,719 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises about 17.0% of Varenne Capital Partners' holdings, making the stock its largest position. Varenne Capital Partners' holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $47,226,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 34,551 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $20,230,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,456 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $5,537,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 221,459 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $129,666,000 after purchasing an additional 7,587 shares during the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE grew its position in Meta Platforms by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 6,189 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $3,624,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benchstone Capital Management LP bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $23,749,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of Meta Platforms stock traded down $3.76 on Wednesday, reaching $747.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,870,069 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,484,792. The company has a market capitalization of $1.88 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.27. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $727.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $657.05. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $479.80 and a 52 week high of $796.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.75 by $1.39. The business had revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.55 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 39.99%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.16 EPS. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,332 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $764.71, for a total value of $14,018,663.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 84,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $64,343,464.11. This trade represents a 17.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 465 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $784.32, for a total value of $364,708.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,877 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,962,408.64. The trade was a 4.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 313,803 shares of company stock worth $235,276,424. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Roth Capital lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $620.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $846.00 to $918.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. TD Cowen raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $783.00 to $811.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $822.41.

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.