KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Purchases 27,300 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 804,110 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 27,300 shares during the period. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 2.6% of KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $593,506,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Avantra Family Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.0% in the second quarter. Avantra Family Wealth Inc. now owns 2,279 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,682,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. RMG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at $255,000. Bingham Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 12.8% in the second quarter. Bingham Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,220 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,639,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Hardy Reed LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 29.9% in the second quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 5,413 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $3,995,000 after purchasing an additional 1,246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 52.2% in the second quarter. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 2,409 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,778,000 after purchasing an additional 826 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.0%

META stock opened at $708.65 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.78 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $479.80 and a 12 month high of $796.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $749.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $680.94.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its 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. The firm had revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $44.55 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.99% and a return on equity of 39.33%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.16 earnings per share. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 22nd were paid a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 22nd. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.60%.

Insider Transactions at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $775.95, for a total value of $46,557,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 237,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $184,059,219.75. This represents a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $769.38, for a total value of $12,192,364.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 212,681 shares of company stock worth $163,863,761. 13.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on META shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $897.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $845.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $650.00 to $825.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Mizuho set a $925.00 price target on shares of Meta Platforms and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $830.68.

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.