Private Trust Co. NA Increases Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,425 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 275 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for approximately 0.7% of Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $7,694,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of META. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Maseco LLP purchased a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $54,000. Finally, Piscataqua Savings Bank increased its holdings in Meta Platforms by 433.3% during the 2nd quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 80 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.7%

NASDAQ:META opened at $750.82 on Tuesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $479.80 and a 12-month high of $796.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.89 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 1.97. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $741.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $693.24.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $44.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.16 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors 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 payout ratio is currently 7.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 11,694 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $775.00, for a total transaction of $9,062,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 1,799 shares in the company, valued at $1,394,225. The trade was a 86.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher K. Cox sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider owned 237,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $184,059,219.75. This trade represents a 20.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 213,146 shares of company stock worth $164,208,279. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

META has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $897.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $800.00 price objective (up from $725.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Monday, July 28th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Meta Platforms has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $829.66.

About Meta Platforms

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.