Banque Pictet & Cie SA Sells 32,523 Shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. $META

Key Points

• Banque Pictet & Cie SA has reduced its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. by 8.6%, owning 346,538 shares after selling 32,523 shares in the second quarter, making it the 10th largest holding in their portfolio.
• Meta Platforms recently reported quarterly earnings of $7.14 per share, exceeding analyst expectations, with revenues amounting to $47.52 billion, reflecting a year-over-year growth of 21.6%.
• Meta has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.525 per share, translating to an annual dividend yield of 0.3%, with a payout ratio of 7.60%.

Banque Pictet & Cie SA lowered its stake in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META - Free Report) by 8.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 346,538 shares of the social networking company's stock after selling 32,523 shares during the quarter. Meta Platforms accounts for about 1.8% of Banque Pictet & Cie SA's portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Banque Pictet & Cie SA's holdings in Meta Platforms were worth $255,776,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of META. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meta Platforms in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Maseco LLP acquired a new stake in Meta Platforms during the 2nd quarter worth $54,000. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Meta Platforms by 102.6% during the first quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 79 shares of the social networking company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 519 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $769.20, for a total value of $399,214.80. Following the sale, the insider owned 30,351 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,345,989.20. This trade represents a 1.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 517 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $781.33, for a total transaction of $403,947.61. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 10,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,237,562.19. This trade represents a 4.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 215,507 shares of company stock worth $165,874,850. Corporate insiders own 13.61% of the company's stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

META opened at $743.40 on Tuesday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $752.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $672.35. 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 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market cap of $1.87 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.92, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.24.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The social networking company reported $7.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $1.39. The business had revenue of $47.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.55 billion. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 39.99% and a return on equity of 39.33%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.16 earnings per share. Meta Platforms has set its Q3 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Meta Platforms Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 22nd were paid a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 22nd. Meta Platforms's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

META has been the topic of several recent research reports. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on Meta Platforms from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $780.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Meta Platforms from $740.00 to $840.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Meta Platforms from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Meta Platforms in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $826.05.

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.

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