Smith Thornton Advisors LLC Has $3.44 Million Stock Position in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Smith Thornton Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 9.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,665 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 411 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 2.0% of Smith Thornton Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $3,443,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC grew 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 worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Maseco LLP bought a new stake in Meta Platforms in the 2nd quarter worth about $54,000. Finally, Piscataqua Savings Bank grew its position in Meta Platforms by 433.3% in 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 in the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

NASDAQ META opened at $648.35 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $738.28 and its 200-day moving average is $696.73. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $479.80 and a 12-month high of $796.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market cap of $1.63 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.20.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted 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 39.35%. The company had revenue of $51.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.03 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Meta Platforms has set its Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 22nd were given a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 22nd. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s payout ratio is 9.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Benchmark downgraded shares of Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $920.00 to $830.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $915.00 to $850.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Citizens Jmp boosted their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meta Platforms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $827.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 465 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $716.97, for a total transaction of $333,391.05. Following the sale, the director directly owned 7,947 shares in the company, valued at $5,697,760.59. This trade represents a 5.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 198,335 shares of company stock valued at $153,047,009. Company 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.