Stephens Inc. AR Has $62.51 Million Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Stephens Inc. AR increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 84,687 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,473 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up about 0.9% of Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $62,507,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC grew its stake in Meta Platforms by 608,429.2% during the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 59,775,823 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $44,119,937,000 after purchasing an additional 59,766,000 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.3% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,669,795 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $10,184,163,000 after acquiring an additional 400,927 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 8.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 15,575,962 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $8,977,361,000 after acquiring an additional 1,255,546 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 4.5% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 12,543,468 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $7,229,553,000 after acquiring an additional 536,160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 2.5% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,041,171 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $5,787,329,000 after acquiring an additional 247,850 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on META. Wedbush increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $920.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Barclays increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $640.00 to $810.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $829.66.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $749.57, for a total transaction of $387,527.69. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 7,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,965,078.06. This trade represents a 6.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 465 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $716.97, for a total value of $333,391.05. Following the sale, the director owned 7,947 shares in the company, valued at $5,697,760.59. This trade represents a 5.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 213,663 shares of company stock worth $164,595,807. 13.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Meta Platforms Stock Up 0.0%

META stock opened at $751.67 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $741.86 and its 200-day moving average is $696.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.89 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.20. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $479.80 and a twelve month high of $796.25. 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 (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 39.99%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.03 EPS. Meta Platforms has set its Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

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

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.