Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stake Lowered by Venator Management LLC

Key Points

• Venator Management LLC reduced its stake in Meta Platforms by 5.0%, now holding approximately $32.04 million in Meta stock, which makes it the firm's 5th largest holding.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own about 79.91% of Meta's stock, highlighting the significant interest from larger investment firms.
• Recent earnings showed Meta Platforms reported an EPS of $7.14, beating estimates, with revenue of $47.52 billion, reflecting a 21.6% year-over-year increase.

Venator Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 5.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 55,597 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 2,910 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 9.6% of Venator Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Venator Management LLC's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $32,044,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 23,417,803 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,445,565 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $13,727,613,000 after purchasing an additional 2,787,832 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,669,795 shares of the social networking company's stock valued at $10,184,163,000 after purchasing an additional 400,927 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.8% during the 1st 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. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 12,007,308 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $7,030,399,000 after acquiring an additional 280,357 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on META. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $845.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $810.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $822.41.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 465 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director directly owned 8,877 shares in the company, valued at $6,962,408.64. This represents a 4.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,332 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 84,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at $64,343,464.11. The trade was a 17.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 313,803 shares of company stock worth $235,276,424. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:META traded up $15.69 during trading on Friday, reaching $754.79. 10,590,214 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,655,942. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.90 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.27. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $479.80 and a 52-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 business's fifty day moving average is $730.31 and its 200-day moving average is $656.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.16 earnings per share. 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, analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

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.