Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Cuts Stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 37.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,247 shares of the social networking company’s stock after selling 1,975 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms makes up 1.2% of Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $2,397,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Csenge Advisory Group lifted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 12.0% during the first quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 9,539 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $5,498,000 after purchasing an additional 1,019 shares in the last quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Meta Platforms by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. ARQ Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 785 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $452,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. JMG Financial Group Ltd. bought a new position in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter valued at about $284,000. Infusive Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 10.7% during the 1st quarter. Infusive Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,620 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $13,614,000 after acquiring an additional 2,285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spirepoint Private Client LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.7% in the second quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 4,080 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $3,011,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. 79.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.1%

Meta Platforms stock opened at $609.46 on Monday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $479.80 and a 12-month high of $796.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.54 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $713.72 and a 200 day moving average of $706.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $51.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 26.2% on a year-over-year basis. Meta Platforms has set its Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current 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 dividend of $0.525 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 22nd. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.28%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $767.16, for a total transaction of $398,156.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 30,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,682,229.20. This trade represents a 1.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 13,359 shares of company stock valued at $9,689,566 in the last quarter. 13.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

META has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped 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, October 30th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Meta Platforms from $675.00 to $685.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Meta Platforms from $880.00 to $840.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price objective 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, October 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $827.60.

About Meta Platforms

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.