Meta Platforms, Inc. $META is Equity Investment Corp’s Largest Position

Equity Investment Corp raised its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 61,390.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 352,953 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 352,379 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 5.5% of Equity Investment Corp’s holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Equity Investment Corp’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $260,511,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in META. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 237.5% during the second quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. WFA Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 42.6% during the 2nd quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 67 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maseco LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $54,000. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

NASDAQ:META opened at $609.46 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $479.80 and a 12-month high of $796.25. The firm has a market cap of $1.54 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s 50-day moving average is $713.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $705.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $51.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.89% and a return on equity of 39.35%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.03 earnings per share. Meta Platforms has set its Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. Research analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 22nd 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 of this dividend was Monday, September 22nd. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on META. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Hsbc Global Res raised Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $840.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $827.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $726.25, for a total value of $376,923.75. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 31,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,173,185. This trade represents a 1.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,332 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were 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 $64,343,464.11. This trade represents a 17.89% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 44,421 shares of company stock valued at $33,573,980 in the last quarter. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.