Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Sold by L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP

L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP lessened its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,706 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 153 shares during the period. L. Roy Papp & Associates LLP’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $1,259,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 237.5% in the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 54 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. boosted its position 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Mizuho set a $925.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $635.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research 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 given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $830.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $775.95, for a total transaction of $46,557,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 237,205 shares in the company, valued at $184,059,219.75. The trade was a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,332 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $764.71, for a total transaction of $14,018,663.72. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 84,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,343,464.11. This trade represents a 17.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 214,182 shares of company stock valued at $164,933,323. Company insiders own 13.61% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 0.7%

NASDAQ META opened at $716.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 1.97. The firm has a market cap of $1.80 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.20. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a one year low of $479.80 and a one year high of $796.25. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $746.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $683.72.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.75 by $1.39. The company had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.55 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.99% and a return on equity of 39.33%. Meta Platforms’s quarterly revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.16 earnings per share. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

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.