Davis Selected Advisers Lowers Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Davis Selected Advisers trimmed its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 4.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,107,814 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 102,436 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for 8.3% of Davis Selected Advisers’ holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Davis Selected Advisers owned 0.08% of Meta Platforms worth $1,555,757,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in META. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 608,429.2% in the 2nd quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 59,775,823 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $44,119,937,000 after purchasing an additional 59,766,000 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 51,575,209 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $37,902,948,000 after purchasing an additional 682,768 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position 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 buying an additional 400,927 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,255,546 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.5% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 12,543,468 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $7,229,553,000 after buying an additional 536,160 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META opened at $613.05 on Tuesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $479.80 and a 12-month high of $796.25. The company has a market cap of $1.55 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $694.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $706.53. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $51.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.35% and a net margin of 30.89%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.03 earnings per share. Meta Platforms has set its Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. Research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors 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 is 9.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on META. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $840.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $825.00 price target (down previously from $900.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Pivotal Research boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $930.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, DA Davidson set a $825.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $823.93.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $604.23, for a total value of $312,386.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 15,302 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,245,927.46. This represents a 3.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 11,690 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.31, for a total transaction of $6,935,793.90. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 2,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,432,843.65. This trade represents a 82.88% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 40,923 shares of company stock worth $26,126,437. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

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.