Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Bought by Pittenger & Anderson Inc.

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,000 shares of the social networking company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,680 shares during the period. Meta Platforms comprises 1.3% of Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $36,166,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Berkeley Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.3% in the second quarter. Berkeley Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,157 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $1,592,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.1% in the second quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 15,300 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $11,293,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. WESPAC Advisors SoCal LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.3% in the second quarter. WESPAC Advisors SoCal LLC now owns 4,044 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $2,985,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.8% in the second quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC now owns 13,233 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $9,767,000 after acquiring an additional 356 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 4.7% in the second quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 21,560 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $15,913,000 after acquiring an additional 974 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Stock Down 11.3%

Shares of NASDAQ META opened at $666.47 on Friday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $479.80 and a 12-month high of $796.25. The company has a market capitalization of $1.67 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $740.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $695.92.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.74 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.89% and a return on equity of 39.69%. The company had revenue of $51.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Meta Platforms has set its Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 22nd were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 22nd. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio is 9.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on META. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $825.00 target price (down previously from $900.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $900.00 target price on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $840.00 to $810.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $800.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $827.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $749.57, for a total transaction of $387,527.69. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 7,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,965,078.06. This represents a 6.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $753.00, for a total transaction of $390,807.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,756 shares in the company, valued at $20,900,268. The trade was a 1.84% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 198,335 shares of company stock valued at $153,047,009 over the last quarter. 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.