VectorGlobal IAG Inc. Purchases Shares of 26,269 Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

VectorGlobal IAG Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 26,269 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,029,000. Meta Platforms accounts for about 3.9% of VectorGlobal IAG Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Ballast Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC now owns 3,934 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $2,251,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Pangea Capital Gestao de Recursos Ltda. bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth $2,861,000. Southern Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Meta Platforms by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Southern Financial Group LLC now owns 982 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $562,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Steelhead Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at about $277,000. Finally, Carmignac Gestion grew its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 134.3% in the first quarter. Carmignac Gestion now owns 114,410 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $65,457,000 after purchasing an additional 65,579 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 7,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $607.83, for a total value of $4,769,642.01. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $251,641.62. The trade was a 94.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 3,348 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.97, for a total transaction of $2,012,047.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 9,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,708,013.06. This represents a 26.06% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 37,770 shares of company stock valued at $23,034,051. Company insiders own 13.53% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 6.0%

META stock opened at $590.24 on Tuesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $520.26 and a twelve month high of $796.25. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $1.49 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.25. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $600.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $622.55.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The social networking company reported $6.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($1.01). Meta Platforms had a net margin of 29.83% and a return on equity of 33.18%. The firm had revenue of $60.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.22 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $7.14 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 28.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on META. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut their price objective on Meta Platforms from $890.00 to $730.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $835.00 to $810.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $790.00 to $780.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $785.00 price objective (down from $800.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $789.95.

More Meta Platforms News

Here are the key news stories impacting Meta Platforms this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AI spending narrative improves: Strong earnings from Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet and other cloud companies suggest enterprise AI demand remains robust, supporting the case for continued infrastructure investment and potentially greater monetization of Meta’s AI tools and recommendation systems. Amazon Just Flipped the AI Capex Narrative
• Positive Sentiment: Valuation attracts buyers: Multiple analyses describe Meta as inexpensive relative to its growth, citing a forward P/E near 17 and expectations for approximately 40% upside. Evercore’s Mark Mahaney reportedly named Meta a top large-cap idea with an $820 price target, while other analysts also maintain bullish views. Meta Named a Top Large-Cap Long Idea
• Positive Sentiment: Core advertising business remains strong: Recent coverage highlights rising revenue, ad impressions, ad prices and user engagement. Investors are encouraged that Meta’s AI investments may already be improving targeting, recommendations and advertising performance. Mark Zuckerberg Says He’s Betting Big on AI Compute
• Positive Sentiment: Recent earnings showed substantial growth: Meta’s latest quarter produced $60.8 billion in revenue, up 28% year over year and above estimates. That growth, combined with a comparatively low valuation, is driving “buy-the-dip” recommendations. Is Meta Stock a Buy on the Dip?
• Neutral Sentiment: International exposure is a key variable: Investors are assessing Meta’s dependence on overseas revenue, including the stability of international advertising demand and currency-related risks. Meta International Revenues Trends
• Negative Sentiment: AI investment remains the main risk: Meta’s earnings miss and concerns about sharply higher capital expenditures, weaker free cash flow and the timing of returns caused the recent post-earnings pressure. Some analysts have also reduced price targets, including Bank of America to $810 and Monness Crespi & Hardt to $730. What’s Going on With Meta Stock?

About Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms, Inc (NASDAQ: META), formerly Facebook, Inc, is a global technology company best known for building social networking services and immersive computing platforms. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the company operates a family of consumer-facing products and services that connect users, creators and businesses. In October 2021 the company rebranded as Meta to reflect an expanded strategic focus on augmented and virtual reality technologies alongside its social media businesses.

Meta’s core consumer products include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, which enable social networking, messaging, content sharing and community building across mobile and desktop devices.