Meta Platforms, Inc. $META Shares Purchased by Bell Investment Advisors Inc

Bell Investment Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) by 62.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,185 shares of the social networking company’s stock after buying an additional 457 shares during the period. Bell Investment Advisors Inc’s holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $875,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC increased its position in Meta Platforms by 608,429.2% during 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Meta Platforms by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 51,575,209 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $37,902,948,000 after buying an additional 682,768 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Meta Platforms by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 17,669,795 shares of the social networking company’s stock worth $10,184,163,000 after buying an additional 400,927 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Meta Platforms by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 15,575,962 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $8,977,361,000 after buying an additional 1,255,546 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in Meta Platforms by 4.5% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 12,543,468 shares of the social networking company’s stock valued at $7,229,553,000 after acquiring an additional 536,160 shares during the last quarter. 79.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meta Platforms Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of META stock opened at $633.61 on Thursday. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $479.80 and a fifty-two week high of $796.25. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $688.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $706.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.60 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 1.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The social networking company reported $7.25 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Meta Platforms has set its Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Meta Platforms Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Monday, September 22nd were issued a $0.525 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 9.28%.

Insider Activity at Meta Platforms

In other Meta Platforms news, CTO Andrew Bosworth sold 11,690 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.31, for a total transaction of $6,935,793.90. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 2,415 shares in the company, valued at $1,432,843.65. This represents a 82.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Aaron Anderson sold 726 shares of Meta Platforms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $591.60, for a total value of $429,501.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 6,035 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,570,306. The trade was a 10.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 41,959 shares of company stock worth $26,759,811 over the last quarter. 13.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on META. Citizens Jmp raised their target price on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $900.00 to $875.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $980.00 price target (up from $888.00) on shares of Meta Platforms in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt reduced their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $860.00 to $808.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $823.93.

Meta Platforms 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.