Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Stock Position Increased by Hardy Reed LLC

Hardy Reed LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 29.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,413 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 1,246 shares during the quarter. Hardy Reed LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,995,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Meta Platforms by 237.5% during the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 102.6% in the 1st quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of several analyst reports. Benchmark upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $890.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Wedbush increased their target price on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $920.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Hsbc Global Res raised Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $830.68.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $708.65 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $479.80 and a 52 week high of $796.25. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $749.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $680.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market cap of $1.78 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $1.39. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 39.99%.The business had revenue of $47.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.16 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 22nd were issued 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 (DPR) is presently 7.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 465 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $757.47, for a total value of $352,223.55. Following the sale, the director owned 8,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,371,837.64. This trade represents a 5.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.98, for a total value of $372,112.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 29,313 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,016,834.74. The trade was a 1.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 212,681 shares of company stock valued at $163,863,761 in the last 90 days. Corporate 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.