Leelyn Smith LLC Has $5.34 Million Stock Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Leelyn Smith LLC increased its holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,231 shares of the social networking company’s stock after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. Meta Platforms makes up 0.9% of Leelyn Smith LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Leelyn Smith LLC’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $5,337,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in META. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 608,429.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth approximately $2,990,544,000. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 23.5% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 7,733,061 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $4,111,050,000 after buying an additional 1,470,070 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.8% during 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 buying an additional 1,255,546 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms during the first quarter worth approximately $571,086,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $749.57, for a total value of $387,527.69. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 7,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,965,078.06. This represents a 6.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert M. Kimmitt sold 465 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.97, for a total value of $333,391.05. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 7,947 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,697,760.59. This represents a 5.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 90,609 shares of company stock worth $69,806,640. 13.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $810.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $900.00 price objective on shares of Meta Platforms in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Zacks Research raised Meta Platforms from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Meta Platforms from $875.00 to $800.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $827.60.

Meta Platforms Stock Performance

Shares of Meta Platforms stock opened at $627.32 on Wednesday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $479.80 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25. The firm has a market cap of $1.58 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $733.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $701.18.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.51. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.89% and a return on equity of 39.35%. The firm had revenue of $51.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.34 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. 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 fiscal 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 issued a $0.525 dividend. 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 is currently 9.28%.

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.