AF Advisors Inc. Makes New Investment in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

AF Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 298 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $220,000. Meta Platforms makes up approximately 0.1% of AF Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dodds Wealth LLC bought a new position in Meta Platforms in the second quarter valued at approximately $228,000. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 22,240 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $16,415,000 after purchasing an additional 808 shares in the last quarter. Sentinel Trust Co. LBA boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sentinel Trust Co. LBA now owns 9,705 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $7,163,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,787 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $8,700,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. now owns 4,132 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,050,000 after buying an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Trading Up 1.4%

NASDAQ:META opened at $635.95 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $479.80 and a 12 month high of $796.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.60 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.09, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $731.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $700.72.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.51. The company had revenue of $51.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.34 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 30.89% and a return on equity of 39.35%. The business’s revenue was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.03 EPS. Meta Platforms has set its Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on META. Bank of America decreased their target price on Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $810.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Pivotal Research lifted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $830.00 to $930.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Meta Platforms from $915.00 to $850.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $860.00 to $808.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Benchmark cut Meta Platforms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $827.60.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $775.00, for a total value of $402,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 32,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,533,150. This trade represents a 1.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg sold 15,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $787.06, for a total transaction of $12,472,539.82. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 91,126 shares of company stock valued at $70,145,792 over the last three months. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.