Natural Investments LLC Acquires 118 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Natural Investments LLC raised its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 27.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 549 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 118 shares during the quarter. Natural Investments LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $404,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings 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. 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 own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $732.17 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $746.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $686.38. The company has a market cap of $1.84 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current 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.

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

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 22nd were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 7.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares of the company’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 approximately $184,059,219.75. This represents a 20.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Susan J. Li sold 18,332 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 17.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 213,146 shares of company stock valued at $164,196,453. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on META. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $810.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. 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. Zacks Research lowered shares of Meta Platforms from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $905.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $775.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $829.66.

Meta Platforms 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.