Plato Investment Management Ltd Grows Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 1.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 50,429 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 937 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 2.8% of Plato Investment Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $37,085,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in META. Csenge Advisory Group increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 12.0% during the first quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 9,539 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,498,000 after acquiring an additional 1,019 shares in the last quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Meta Platforms by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 785 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. JMG Financial Group Ltd. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth approximately $284,000. Infusive Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 10.7% during the 1st quarter. Infusive Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,620 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $13,614,000 after purchasing an additional 2,285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spirepoint Private Client LLC raised its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.7% in the second quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 4,080 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,011,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 0.7%

Meta Platforms stock opened at $627.08 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $721.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $705.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $479.80 and a twelve month high of $796.25. The company has a market capitalization of $1.58 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted 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. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.89% and a return on equity of 39.35%. The company had revenue of $51.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.03 EPS. Meta Platforms’s revenue was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. Meta Platforms has set its Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 22nd were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 22nd. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $775.00, for a total value of $402,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 32,946 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,533,150. The trade was a 1.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 2,612 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $782.13, for a total value of $2,042,923.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 7,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,951,227.17. This trade represents a 25.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 58,397 shares of company stock valued at $44,662,165 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on META. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $685.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $875.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Benchmark lowered shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $925.00 to $815.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $827.60.

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.